GRAY AND HIS FKIENDS 



SonDon: C. J. CLAY and SONS, 
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE, 

Ave Makia Lane. 




CamfariDflr: DEIGHTON, BELL AXD CO. 
fLetpjig: F. A. BEOCKHAUS. 



GRAY AND HIS FEIENDS 



LETTERS AND RELICS 



IN GREAT PART HITHERTO UNPUBLISHED. 



EDITED BY 



DUNCAN C.^TOVEY, M.A 



TRINITY COLLEGE. 



CAMBRIDGE : 

AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS 
1890 

All Rights reserved 







Cambviigc: 

printj:d by c. j. clay, ii.a. and sons, 

at the university press. 



TO 



THE MEMBERS PAST AND PRESENT 



OF 



THE ASCHAM SOCIETY OF ETON COLLEGE 



THESE PAGES 



ARE AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED 



BY THEIR FORMER COLLEAGUE 



THE EDITOR. 



PREFATORY NOTICE. 



THE Relics collected in this volume are de- 
rived from various sources. Some time ago 
Mr John Morris most generously placed at my 
disposal the valuable collection of Gray Papers, 
described in the Appendix to Mr Gosse's edition 
of Gray (Vol. iv. p. 339). I desire to express my 
gratitude for the great courtesy through which I 
have been able to give here in full the Journals 
in France and Italy, and the notes of travel in 
Scotland, from that collection. 

I must also record my great obligation to the 
■kindness of Mr Chaloner W. Chute, of the Vyne, 
Hampshire, who allows me to print some letters 
written by Gray to John Chute which have not 
yet been published, except in the ' History of the 
Vyne.' 

The collection made by Mitford (now in the 
British Museum) was I believe intended to 
supplement his long labours over Gray. It is 
contained in four volumes (bound in two) of 
MSS. (32,561 ; 32,562 Add. mss.) ; part of these 



viii PREFATOKY NOTICE. 

materials he used in his latest editions of the 
poet's Works and Correspondence ; much of them 
he never gave to the world. Yet it is to these 
I imagine that he refers, when he says (Preface 
to the Correspondence of Gray and Mason), " I 
have still some materials by me which I think will 
not be unacceptable to the public, partly relating 
to Gray and partly to those connected with him 
and his history, that may serve to illustrate what 
is already published, and complete in some points 
our acquaintance with the circumstances of his 
life." I am here trying to do what Mitford 
could have done so well ; and where I follow him 
I am altogether indebted to his care and pains. 
Fortunately his handwriting, though minute, is 
generally clear ; he evidently transcribed Ashton's 
letters in greater haste than those of Gray and 
Walpole, and here in some places his writing is 
less easily decipherable. Yet it may be inferred 
that he is generally faithful even to the punctua- 
tion, for this was his principle in copying ; and 
I believe that access to the originals, had that 
been possible for me, would not have improved 
the present volume to any appreciable extent, 
wherever I have had Mitford to depend upon. 

Of the letters now published from this source, 
those which will I think be found most interest- 



PREFATORY NOTICE. IX 

ing to the general reader are described by Mitford 

as follows 

" Manuscript 

Letters 

of 

Gray, West and Walpole 

copied by me 

from the Originals 

lent 

by Lady Frankl*^ Lewis"|* 

to me 

February 1853 

J. M. 

N.B. The Mrs Lewis, to whom the letters 
directed to Mr Ash ton, were enclosed, was Anne 
daughter and Co-Heiress of Sir Nathan Wright, 
Bt of Tofts Hall who died 1777. 

Ms Letters 

from 

Ash ton to West 

and 

Walpole 

t Lady Frankland Lewis was Harriet fourth daughter of 
Sir George Coruwall B'. married 11th March 1805 Et Honble 
Th'. Frankland Lewis of Harpton Court, Radnor." 

Next in interest to these in Mitford's Collec- 
tion will be found the two letters from Miss 
Speed, which he has preserved for us. I hope 



X PREFATOKY NOTICE. 

there may be readers who will be glad to know 
how the ' Long Story ' was received by those who 
were most concerned in it. If either of these 
letters from the only lady for whom Gray is 
supposed to have entertained any penchant have 
ever seen the light until now, the fact has escaped 
my notice. 

I have never had the time completely to 
master the contents of these MS. volumes. I 
had to search them rapidly, in order to copy 
that which I thought would be most interesting ; 
and this I hope I have succeeded in achieving. 
They contain MS. notes on Sophocles by Graj^ 
and a sketch in Latin of an Inaugural Lecture 
on History, neither of which have been published. 
Mitford was working for himself, and therefore 
does not always indicate very clearly the sources 
or even the authorship of what he has transcribed. 
There are for example some slight French songs, 
which do not seem to me to be more than jottings 
by Gray of what he had read or heard, but which 
might, for all I know, be imitations either by 
himself or West. Other instances of a like per- 
plexity, will be found in my notes. The ' Mason 
Papers' from which Mitford drew most of these 
materials are I believe those of which he speaks 
in the Preface to the ' Correspondence of Gray 



PREFATORY NOTICE. XI 

and Mason' as having been placed in his hands 
by Mr Penn, of Stoke Park. The fate of the 
originals (though I have been kindly favoured 
with all the information which Colonel Stuart 
could give me), I am unable to trace ; but it 
is probable that they would have been quite 
inaccessible to me even could I have discovered 
where they were. This may, perhaps, be the 
best place to mention that Mitford records a line 
of Gray's in pencil, 

' The rude Columbus of an infant world ' — 
where he found it, I am uncertain ; perhaps 
among these Mason papers ; if it is in the Common 
Place Books at Pembroke College, Cambridge, 
whence I have gathered some other poetic jottings 
of Gray, it escaped my notice in the search which 
the kindness of Dr Searle, the Master of Pembroke, 
allowed me to make there. It is obvious to 
conjecture that this was a thought for the ' Elegy ' 
and that the ' rude Columbus ' might have found 
a place beside the ' village Hampden ' and the 
' mute inglorious Milton '. 

The Common Place Books of Gray at Pem- 
broke have given me much of West's ; but offer, 
as might be expected, of matter suitable to my 
present purpose nothing in extenso that is new 
of Gray's, except the two translations from the 



xii PREFATORY NOTICE. 

Greek printed in this volume. Nor does an 
obliging letter which I have received from Mr 
R. A. Neil, Fellow and Librarian of Pembroke, 
encourage me to hope that more of Gray's is 
to be discovered there. 

Though I honestly believe that the imper- 
fections of this edition are not due to want of 
pains, I am well aware that even scanty oppor- 
tunities are a poor excuse for faulty work, and 
therefore I would gladly have made my account 
of Mitford's mss. more exact, and my references 
and annotations more complete, if I had had 
more time and more knowledge at my command. 
I cannot complain of want of assistance, and 
in addition to the obligations acknowledged 
already, or in the notes, I must here thank 
Mr R. F. Sketchley, the Librarian of the Dyce 
and Foster Libraries at South Kensington, and 
Mr J. W. Clark of Cambridge, for most useful 
communications ; the Provosts of Eton and 
King's College, Cambridge, for the information 
which confirms my note on p. 80 infra; my 
friends Mr F. W. Cornish of Eton, Dr Henry 
Jackson and Mr E. S. Shuckburgh of Cambridge, 
for their encouragement and assistance ; and 
Dr Porter, the Master of Peterhouse, for his 
kindly interest in this edition. 



CONTENTS. 



Imtroductory Essay 

Section I. Unpublished Letters, chiefly op 
Foreign Travel. 

Gray, Walpole and Ashton. 



PAGE 
1 



Gray to Ashton 


37 


,, ,, ..... 


39 


)5 5, . , . . , 


41 


Gray and Walpole to Ashton 


45 


Gray to Ashton 


47 


Walpole and Gray to Ashton 


49 


Walpole to Ashton .... 


54 


Ashton to Walpole .... 


58 



Section II. Correspondence and Remains op 
EicHARD West. 

Unijublished Letters marked thus *. 



1. 


*Ashton to West . 


. 65 


2. 


* 

5) » • • • 


. 66 


3. 


West to Gray . 


. 68 


4. 


)) )) • • • 


. 70 




*Ashton to West . 


. ib. n. 



XIV 



CONTENTS. 



6 * 






7 * 






8. *West to Ashton . 






9. *Ashton to West . 






10. West to Walpole 






Ode to Maiy Magdalene . 






*Ashtoii to West 






11. West to Gray 






12. West to Walpole 






13. „ „ . . . 






*Asliton to West . 






14. West to Gray . 






Ad amices 






15. *West to Walpole 






Ad Pyrrham (trans.) 






16. *Ashtoii to West . 






17. West to Gray 






Epigram of Poseidippus (transl. 






18. Gray to West (Latin) 






19. West to Gray 






'Hearne to Time ' by Mr Polyglot . 






' Thanks, Chloe ' . . . . 






Monody on the Death of Queen Caroline 






20. West to Gray 






21. *Ashton to West . 






22. West to Gray 






Elegia. Quod mihi tam gratfe S 


iTC. 




Imitation of Horace £jj. i. 2 . 






23. West to Walpole 






Propertius 3. 15 imitated . 






24. *Ashton to West . 






25. West to Gray 






Sapphics to his Lyre 









CONTENTS. 


XV 

PAGE 


26. 


West to Walpole . . . . . 


134 


Hexameters on the Winter of 1740 . . . . 


137 


27. 


West to Walpole . . . . . 


1,38 


28. 


,, ,,...... 


139 


Eleg 


ia. Ergo desidiie itc. .... 


140 


29. 


West to Gray 


142 


30. 


*West to Ashtou 


145 


31. 


* 

,, ...... 


146 


32. 


* 


149 


33. 


W^est to Walpole .... 


150 


34. 


*Gray to West with Dialogue of the Books 


154 


35. 


West to Gray 


156 


36. 


,, ,, ..... 


157 




Hexameters on his Cough . 


158 


37. 


West to Gray 


160 


38. 


*West to Ashtou 


163 


39. 


W^est to Gray ..... 


164 




Invocation to May .... 


. 165 


40. 


West to Gray ..... 


. 166 




Transl. from Catullus .... 


. 167,8 


41. 


*Ashton to West 


. 169 


42. 


*Gray to Ashton 


. 170 


Ashton's Verses on the Death of West 


171 


CTIO 


N III. Gray to John Chute. 




1. 


Sept. 7, 1741 -^ .... 


. 176 


2. 


October or Nov. 1746 .... 


. 181 


3. 


1762 


. 184 



Section IV. Gray to Percy and Brockett 



190 



Section V. Miss Speed to Gray. 

August 1750 
August 25, 1759 . 



197 
198 



XVI CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Section VI. Gray's Notes of Travel. 

In France 204 

Italy 216 

Scotland 260 

Section VII. Thoughts and Verse Fragments 269 

Section VIII. Collectanea and Conjectures. 

Gweddi'r Hwsmon (The Husbandman's 

Prayer) 275 

Anecdotes &c 277 

Conjectural Readings on Shakespeare . 289 

Section IX. Latin Poems 295 






CORRIGENDA. 

Index, p. 312, col. 2, for 'Willis' read 'Willes.' 

after 'Yarmouth' add ' see Walmoden. 



vr» «^ »»— — 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL. 

My design in gathering these Papers has been 
threefold. In the first place they are the records of 
a remarkable and interesting friendship. The fonr 
Eton friends Gray, Walpole, West and Ashton, known 
to their schoolfellows as the Quadruple Alliance, are 
here brought together once more. It has not indeed 
been possible to reproduce their correspondence in 
full, but something has now been added to the ma- 
terials which are extant elsewhere in a printed form, 
and if the present volume is in some respects a supple- 
ment, I have tried to give this part of it the interest 
of a certain coherence. Of Gray and Walpole I have 
given in full nothing but what is new to the world, 
with the single exception of a Latin letter from Gray 
to West, which, published by Mitford with the wrong 
heading 'Mr West to Mr Gray', has been omitted by 
Mr Gosse altogether. With this and another excep- 
tion noted later on', whatever of theirs has been seen 

1 p. 18. 
G. 1 



2 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 

ill print before, will only appear now in the form 
of connecting links. 

Although what is printed here of Ashton's is, all 
but certain verses, entirely new, it has seemed ad- 
visable to treat some of his letters in the same way. 
To have given them in full would have been to add 
to the heavier material of my volume, and I could 
not persuade myself that I have in his case 
the same kind of obligation as in the case of 
Gray or West. Even West has a place (though a 
very subordinate place) in literature; Ashton has 
scarcely any. Letters are not interesting simply 
because they are old ; and distance lends no enchant- 
ment to dulness. In transcribing Ashton's letters, 
I came to the conclusion that he could be a very 
ponderous young person, but I cannot convince 
readers of this, except at their expense and that of 
my volume, which might sink under his weight. 
I am therefore contented to indicate where all these 
letters are to be found'. Ashton was dubbed "' Plato '^ 
by his Eton friends; why, I cannot tell, except in 
as far as he was supposed to have some skill in 
Greek^; his temper, with a great affectation of 

^ Mitford's Common Place Books ad. fin. (Add. Mss. Brit. 
Mus. 32,562.) 

^ See note infra p. 81. 

3 Walpole to West from Florence Oct. 2, 1740, suggests that 
Asbton shall turn into Greek Buondelmonti's ' Spesso Amor 
&c.' -which Gray had Latinized. 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 3 

eqiianimity at times, is the reverse of philosophic. 
He is fitted however for the part of a SevTepayoivia-rrj^ 
and ill this character he now appears. He was a 
Fellow of King's, and subsequently of Eton, Rector 
of St Botolph, Bishopsgate, and Preacher to the 
Society of Lincoln's Inu'. Partly from the fact that 
they were members of the same college at Cambridge, 
but still more, I am inclined to think, from a certain 
disposition to toadyism, he is in closer juxtaposition 
with Walpole than with any other member of the 
alliance. What part he played in the famous quarrel 
between Gray and Walpole it is impossible now 
exactly to determine, but it is probable that his 
conduct in the matter caused an estrangement be- 
tween himself and Gray. His interest in the case 
appears from the Postscript to a letter (strangely 
fulsome and exaggerated as I think) which he wrote 
to Walpole on his recovery from his illness at Reggio. 
This letter is given on p. .58. The Mrs — there 

1 Cunningham (H. Walpole's Letters, vol. i, p. 2). An 
amusing letter from Walpole to Ashton dated from the 
Christopher Inn at Eton has this " If I do not compose myself 
a little more before Sunday morning, when Ashton is to preach 
I shall certainly he in a bill for laughing at church; but how 
to help it, to see him in the pulpit, when the last time I saw 
him here, was standing up funking over against a conduct to 
be catechized." But this letter is certainly inisplaced between 
one of 1737 and one of 1739, for Ashton was not ordained till 
later. He was made Fellow of Eton Dec. 20, 1745, and pro- 
bably never preached in the Chapel before that event. 

1—2 



4 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 

spoken of who 'knows the whole' is perhaps Gray's 
mother ; but, if so, who is the Mrs Gr : mentioned 
just before, to whom Ashton is 'infinitely obliged', 
and with whom he is going 'to rejoice' over Walpole's 
convalescence ? This Mrs Gr : is undoubtedly the 
lady to whom Walpole refers in the following from 
Rome (infra p. 56). 

" M''^ G. writes me word how much goodness she 
met with in Hanover Sqre.' Poor Creature I You 
know, how much it obliges me, my dear Ashton, .& 
if that can give you any satisfaction, as I well believe 
it does, be assured, it touches me in the strongest 
manner. It obliges me in a Point that relates to my 
mother, & that is all I can say in this World ! . . . 
You must not tell that poor Woman, what I am 
now going to mention. I fear we shall not see 
Naples" &c. And then he proceeds to talk of the 
malaria, and the roads infested by banditti, and 
relates incidents likely to be disquieting to the 
anxious female heart. It is certain that Walpole 
is solicitous for some person inferior to him in rank, 
who nevertheless has a claim upon his kindly interest. 
— Whether "M''^ G." would be alarmed more on 
Walpole's account, or on Gray's, the reader may 
determine as he can I The concern of Gray himself 

1 The residence of the Hon. Mrs Lewis, where Ashton was 
living as Tutor to Lord Plymouth. 
- See further the n. on p. 60. 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 5 

at the death of Lady Walpole is manifested in a 
letter to West of Aug. 22, 1737, 'While I mite to you, 
I hear the bad news of Lady Walpole' s death on 
Saturday night last. Forgive me if the thought of 
what my poor Horace must feel on that account, 
obliges me to have done in reminding you that I am 
yours &c.' I should infer from this that Gray did 
not learn the ' bad news ' from Walpole himself ; yet 
as Lady Walpole died on the 20th of August, this 
speedy information must have come to Gray either 
through Ashton or from some domestic source. It 
should be remembered that in 1735 Mrs Gray sub- 
mitted for the opinion of Counsel that remarkable 
'case' in which are revealed the cruelties of her 
husband and the exertions she had made for her son, 
' whilst at Eton School, and now he is at Peterhouse 
at Cambridge.' I should like to persuade myself, 
that the sufferings and struggles of this 'careful 
tender mother' had won for her the sympathy of 
Horace and Lady Walpole ; and this may be true, 
whether or not these pages afford evidence pointing 
that way. We shall probably conclude that Mrs 
Gr : is not Mrs Gray ; but whoever she may be, 
Walpole' s though tfulness for her places him in a 
very amiable light. And whatever his offence 
against Gray himself may have been, there is man- 
liness and good feeling in everything we know 
of Walpole's conduct in relation to this rupture — 



6 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 

As in this to his cousin the Hon. H. S. Conway' 
(London, 1741). 

"Before I thank you for myself, I must thank you 
for that excessive good nature you showed in UTiting 
to poor Gray. I am less impatient to see 3'ou, as I 
find you are not the least altered, but have the same 
tender friendly temper you always had." 

Evidently he is anxious to make peace. The first 
direct overtures towards a reconciliation came from 
him, as Gray acknowledges^ in a letter to John 

1 Horace Walpole's Letters, ed. Cunningham, no. 42, vol. i. 
p. 731. Quoted, I discover, with the same intention, in 
Mitford's 2nd Life of Gray. 

^ But there are two facsimiles prefixed to the first volume 
of ' Walpoliana ' which look as if they were connected with 
each other and with this reconciliation. The first is Gray's, 
the second Walpole's. 

...do you mean to continue so, or shall You 
see me the less Willingly next Week, when I mean to call at 
your Door some Morning? I hope you are still in Town, 
believe me D' S' very sincerely yours 

Cambridge, July 7 T Gray 

I shall be very glad, S"", to see you here again 
whenever it is convenient to you. Lest I should forget the 
time, be so good as to acquaint me three or four days before- 
hand when you wish to come, that I may not be out of the 
way, «fe I will fix a day for expecting you. I am 
Sr 
yr obliged 

humble Sert 

HoR Walpole. 
As far as my search can discover Gray's is not a fragment of 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 7 

Chute of October 12, 1746 (wrongly assigned by Mr 
Gosse to 1750), " I find Mr Walpole then made some 
mention of me to you; yes, we are together again. 
It is about a year, I beheve, since he \vrote to me, to 
offer it, and there has been (particularly of late), in 
appearance, the same kindness and confidence almost 
as of old. What were his motives, I cannot yet 
guess. What were mine, you will imagine and 
perhaps blame me. However as yet I neither repent, 
nor rejoice overmuch, but I am pleased." 

The words ' It is about a year ' &c. enable us with 
the aid of other evidence to fix the date of the 
reconciliation itself and of the letter of Gray's which 
gives an account of it to Nov. 1745". In this letter 
Gray says, 

" I wrote a note the night I came [to Stoke], and 
immediately received a very civil answer. I went the 
following evening to see i\\Q party (as Mrs Foible says), 
was something abashed at his confidence ; he came 

any extant letter. I am not able to say as much about Wal- 
pole's. If Gray is addressing Walpole, it looks as if he was 
reminding him of some friendly overtures, slighted at the time 
they were made; if Walpole is addressing Gray at all, it is 
scarcely possible to doi;bt that he is replying to Gray's pro- 
posal of a visit, and that in a very reserved and formal 
manner. But it is only the first document that is of im- 
portance. 

^ Walpole told Mason that in the year 1744 a reconciliation 
was effected between them by ' a Lady who wished well to both 
parties.' I think he must be mistaken as to the year. 



8 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 

to meet me, kissed me on both sides with all the ease 
of one, who receives an acquaintance just come out of 
the country, squatted me into a Fauteuil, begun to 
talk of the town and this and that and t'other, and 
continued with little interruption for three hours, 
when I took my leave very indifferently pleased, but 
treated with wondrous good breeding. I supped with 
him next night (as he desired), Ashton was there, 
whose formalities tickled me inwardly, for I found he 
was to be angry about the letter I had Avrote him. 
However in going home together our hackney-coach 
jumbled us into a sort of reconciliation : he hammered 
out somewhat like an excuse ; and I received it very 
readily, because I cared not twopence, whether it were 
true or not. So we grew the best acquaintance 
imaginable, and I sat with him on Sunday some 
hours alone, when he informed me of abundance of 
anecdotes much to my satisfaction, and in short 
opened (I really believe) his heart to me with that 
sincerity, that I found I had still less reason to have 
a good opinion of him, than (if possible) I ever had 
before." 

We know by a note of Mitford's to this letter, 
that Mr Isaac Reed heard from Mr Roberts of the 
Pell-office, in 1799, "That the quarrel between Gray 
and Walpole was occasioned by a suspicion Mr Walpole 
entertained, that Mr Gray had spoken ill of him to 
some friends in England. To ascertain this, he 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 9 

clandestinely opened a letter, and resealed it, wliicli 
Mr Gray with great propriety, resented." 

I confess that I doubt whether Walpole ever 
opened Gray's letter and sealed it up again, although 
Mr Roberts of the Pell-office was ' likely to be well- 
informed', as Mr Isaac Reed assures us. I do not 
knoAV how old ]\fr Roberts of the Pell-office was in 
1799, but he told this story 58 years after the thing, 
whatever it was, happened, and before the original 
account reached his ears it must of necessity have 
been transmitted through a great number of persons, 
possibly at considerable intervals of time, and, it may 
be suspected, with the usual improvements and 
additions. What is certain is, that Ashton had 
something to do with the quarrel', and from the 
reference above ' I found he was to be angry about 
the letter I had wrote him', we may guess that some- 
thing Gray wrote to Ashton about Walpole, either 
caused or increased the rupture. Gray's feeling about 
Ashton remained practically unabated, and he con- 
tinues in every notice of him subsequently (except in 
writing to Walpole) to speak of him with irony or 
contempt. There was indeed one moment of ra'p- 
prochement, caused by the death of West (see infr. Sect. 
II. let. 42), and I do not find that Gray ever took the 



1 As Mitford I find remarks in his second life of Gray; 
drawing the same inference from the Wharton correspondence. 



10 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 

trouble to manifest any strong resentment against 
Asliton, But for the evidences of dislike we have 
only to take some mentions of Ashton's name which 
we find in Gray's letters to Wharton'. As in the 
dream which he communicates to him, from which 
we gather an exacter notion than adjectives will 
supply : 

" I thought I was in t'other world and confined in 
a little apartment much like a cellar, enlightened by 
one rush candle that burned blue. On each side 
of me sate (for my sins) M'' Davie and my friend 
M'^ A{shton) ; they bowed continually and smiled in 
my face and while one filled me out very bitter tea, 
the other sweetened it with a vast deal of brown 
sugar: altogether it much resembled Syrup of Buck- 
thorn. In the corner sat Tuthill very melancholy in 
expectation of the tea-leaves." 

If Walpole's offence was as grievous as the tale 
above given would imply, we might well believe, with 
Mr Isaac Heed, that there was "little cordiality after- 
wards between them". But how does this tally with 
these words, written by Gray to Walpole (when 

^ See also supra and Gray's Works (eel. Gosse), ii. 144, iii. 
86, 87. In the Index to this edition Thomas Asheton and Dr 
Ashton are treated as different persons, and this misconcei^tion 
may perhaps explain Mr Gosse' s statement (Life of Gray, 
p. 11) that ' Ashton, taking orders very early, dropped out of 
the circle of friends.' 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 11 

Walpole had some difference with another friend) 
with obvious alhi.sion to their own experience? — 

" I always beh'eved well of his heart and temper, 
and would gladly do so still. If they are such as 
they should be, I should have expected everything 
from such an explanation ; for it is a tenet with me 
(a simple one, you'll perhaps say) that if ever two 
people, who love one another come to breaking, it is 
for a want of a timely eclaircissement, a full and 
precise one, without witnesses or mediators, and with- 
out reserving any one disagreeable circumstance for 
the mind to brood upon in silence.'" 

Is this the way men write to those w^ho open other 
people's letters and seal them up again ? I cannot 
reconcile the evidence of Gray's correspondence, or 
any of the ascertained facts of his subsequent con- 
nection with Walpole either with the offence imputed, 
or with Cole's statement that "when Walpole asked 
Gray to Strawberry Hill, when he came, he without 
any ceremony told Walpole that he came to wait on 
him as civility required, but by no means would he 
ever be there on the terms of his former friendship, 
which he had utterly cancelled." Walpole's own 
manly and candid account of the matter is that he 
'treated' Gray 'insolently'. 'He loved me and I 
did not think he did '. He was ' too serious a com- 
panion'. Gray was for antiquities &c. 'whilst I was 
1 Gray's Works (ed. Gosse), ii. 225. 



12 INTKODUCTORY ESSAY. 

for perpetual balls & plays ; — the fault was mine '. 
And this passage from a letter to Ashton (Rome, 
May 28, 1740) betrays just the sense of growing- 
discrepancy to which Walpole refers, an irksomeness 
against which better feelings were struggling : 

" By a considerable volume of Charts & Pyramids 
which I saw at Florence, / thought it threatened a 
Publication. His travels have really improved him ; 
I wish they may do the same for any one else." 

The notes of foreign travel now published for the 
first time, which were set down in Gray's exquisite and 
careful handwriting with scarcely an erasure, must 
have taken him some time, and they are probably 
but a small part of his studious labours at this date. 
The eternal conflict between thoroughness and di- 
lettantism is evidently being renewed between these 
young people. The strain must have been great ; 
and they are both trying hard to keep their tempers. 
When nearly a year after this Gray writes to West 
from Florence that he has acquired in his two years 
absence from England 'a sensibility for what others 
feel, and indulgence for their faults and weaknesses', 
we can guess of whom he is thinking, Alas ! he did 
but flatter himself Only a few days after these 
words were written, the quarrel occurred. Whether 
the letter Gray wrote to Ashton was the bone of 
contention ; or whether it only helped to make 
matters worse, the reader is now in as good a position 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. ' lo 

to judge as I am. Gray evidently believes that 
Asliton was put up by Walpole to act a part about it, 
and to pretend that it had made him indignant when 
it did nothing of the sort. Perhaps again, Ashton 
was one of those 'mediators' who, according to Gray's 
experience, are best away. Cunningham tells us that 
Ashton died at Bath in 1775, but that 'his friendship 
with Walpole had ceased long before'. Walpole ad- 
dressed to him the Poetical 'Epistle' from Florence ; 
and we learn from Gray's letters that he wrote a book 
against Conyers Middleton, and that Gray thought it 
had some things new and ingenious, but rather too 
prolix, and the style here and there savouring too 
strongly of sermon ' '. 

The second part of my scheme is to collect all the 
remains of the beloved and unfortunate Richard West. 
This is an act of vicarious piety ; it was designed, as 
far as West's compositions are concerned, by Gray him- 
self ; and was also an unfulfilled project of Mitford's, 
who writes (Correspondence of Gray and Mason, 
Preface, p. xxvii) "Why Gray left his design unaccom- 
plished is not known ; but it may be endeavoured, 
with the assistance of new materials, not indeed to 
supply the office which he left unfultilled, but to raise 
the best monument to the memory of West from his 
own works, which, at so late a period, can be done." I 
am sorry that neither the plan of Mr Gosse's edition, 
^ Gray's Works (eel. Gosse), ii. 210. 



14 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 

nor that of the present vohnne has admitted of giving 
together in full the correspondence between Gray and 
West. In Walpole's Correspondence as edited by 
Cunningham, West thus appears, to the great advan- 
tage of lucidity and interest. If the editors of Cicero 
excluded from his works the letters of his correspon- 
dents, on the plea that they were not Cicero's, classical 
scholars would have cause to complain. Letters, more- 
over, are more real and life-like when they can be read 
as dialogues ; the reader is more under the influence of 
the spirit in which they were composed. Some figures 
are thus preserved in literature, eugaging certainly, 
yet scarcely strong enough to stand alone ; I am not 
sure that West is not one of these. The Englishman 
thinks as naturally of West in conjunction with Gray, 
as the Frenchman thinks of Etienne de la Boetie in 
conjunction with Montaigne. It is the light of 
friendship which glorifies these relics ; and the true 
devotee of literature, who is always something more 
than learned or critical, tries to look upon these 
unfulfilled promises of the early lost, with the eyes of 
those who once loved them. We shall probably be 
unable to subscribe to Gray's estimate of West's 
Monody on the Death of Queen Caroline ; and we 
may be quite sure that if the unhappy line 

'And tho' not virtuous, virtuously inclin'd' 
had been Mason's not West's, Gray would have said 
of it just what he did say to Mason in a similar 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 15 

case, "All I can say is that your Elegy must not 
end with the worst line in it ; it is flat, it is prose ; 
whereas that above all ought to sparkle, or at least to 
shine." To read these things in the right spirit we 
must replace criticism by the emotional interest which 
attaches to the sad story of this brief life. He was 
the son of ' the Richard West, who ' says Mr Gosse 
' was made Lord Chancellor of Ireland when he was 
only thirty-five, and who then immediately died.' 
The mother of our West was the daughter of Bishop 
Burnet. West died at the age of 26 ; and (to quote 
from Mitford's Life of Gray) " It is said the cause of 
his disorder, a consumption which brought him to an 
early grave, was the fatal discovery which he made of 
the treachery of a supposed friend, and the viciousness 
of a mother whom he tenderly loved. This man, 
under the mask of friendship to him and his family, 
intrigued with his mother, and robbed him of his 
peace of mind, his health and his life." The man in 
question is said to have been secretary to West's 
father' ; Rogers was told that it was some person of 

^ 'A Mr Williams, whom she finally married when her son 
was dead.' Mr Gosse (Life of Gray, p. 47). Gray's post- 
script to a letter from Walpole to West (Rome, April 16 N. S. 
1740) has this 'We have sent you our compliments hy a 
friend of yours, and correspondent in a corner, who seems a 
very agreeable man, one Mr Williams. I am sorry he staid 
so little a while in Rome '. Is this the man ? In any case we 
may infer that Gray did not at this date know that there 



16 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 

inferior condition. A still more tragic colour is 
given to this strange story by what seems to have 
been a later discovery of Mitford's. " In a note 
liitherto unpublished," says Mr Gosse, "Dyce says that 
Mitford told him ' that West's death was hastened by 
mental anguish, there having been good reason to 
suspect that his mother poisoned his father." These 
suspicions we can scarcely suppose were in West's 
mind before Sept. 28, 1739, on which day writing to 
Gray he speaks of his mother's health with filial 
anxiety, as the reason why they were then together 
at Tunbridge ; and one cannot help wondering 
whether it was 'an honest ghost' that breathed into 
the young man's ear this tale of secret murder. 
Even in 1737 West describes himself as having been 
very ill, and it is probable that his feeble constitution 
was a legacy from his father. His OAvn end was 
awfully sudden ; both Gray and Ashton wrote to him 
when he was no more : Gray's letter is lost, but it 
enclosed the Ode on Spring for the eyes which were 
never to see it ; Ashton's letter is given below ; while 
it was being wTitten, West was already two days 
dead. Always careless about his health, it is pro- 
bable that the knowledge of his mother's guilt which 
came to him at some time within the last three years 

was any sad story connected with the name Williams at 
all. He would have felt that in writing thus to his friend, 
he would be touching a wound. 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 17 

of his life, made him more so ; that it increased his 
restlessness ; that what he knew of bad made him 
suspect worse, and connect some darker mystery with 
his father's early death. I know not how this history 
got abroad ; if he told it to any one he told it to 
Gray ; we should never guess from the slightly-rufiled 
surface of his correspondence, what deep sighs those 
are 

Che fanno pullular quest' acqua al sommo. 
But the reader should know that, beneath, a little 
Hamlet-like tragedy is going on ; perhaps not without 
its good Horatio ; and one thinks of Goethe's words 
about "the lovely noble nature, without the strength 
of nerve which forms a hero, sinking beneath a 
burden which it cannot bear and must not cast 
away." His last words to Gray ' Vale et vive pauUis- 
per cum vivis' were written in a cheerful and en- 
couraging spirit ; but as his friend thought upon 
them in after days, they may have seemed like an 
unconscious echo of the pathetic commission 

— Absent thee from felicity awhile 
And in this harsh world di'aw thy breath in pain 
To tell my story. 

In the third place, there are here collected of 
Gray's, whatever seemed of general interest, amongst 
his hitherto unpublished relics. There are indeed 
some evidences of his curious industry which have 
not been included either in the edition of Mitford, or 

G. 2 



18 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 

in tliat of Mr Gosse, and which are not printed here. 
And it still remains true that in order to obtain the 
whole of Gray's works, it is necessary to have recourse 
to several distinct publications. If, for example, we 
wish to read all Gray's notes of foreign travel we 
must read one part of his Journal in France in Mr 
Gosse's edition (vol, i. pp. 237 — 246), another part 
in the present volume ; the journal in Italy in the 
present volume; and the Criticisms on Architecture 
and Painting during a Tour in Italy in Mitford's 
Aldine edition (vol. iv. pp. 225 — 305). Generally 
speaking, I give nothing of Gray's which has been 
before printed ; the letters to John Chute which 
will be found below, and which Mr Chaloner Chute 
most kindly allows me to publish, have been re- 
cently printed by him in his ' History of the Vyne' ; 
but none of these have appeared in any edition of 
the poet's remains. In a search made under difficulties 
and at rare intervals, it is likely tliat I have not seen 
all that it would be worth while to edit; yet I do 
not edit all that I Jiave seen; there must be some 
limit to what is called literature ; for instance, there is 
a copy in the British Museum of Verral's cookery', 
with Gray's MS. notes ; and these I did not transcribe. 
I was indeed glad to discover from this book what 
(such is the ignorance of man) I did not know before, 

1 It once belonged to Mitford. See his ' Correspondence 
of Gray and Mason,' p. 252 n. 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 19 

that Verral was a pupil of Clouet's, and that Clouet 
was the Soyer of his age ; because this enabled me to 
understand the lines in the "Address of William 
Shakespeare to M''' Anne, Regular servant to the 
Rev. M"" Precentor of York" — 

" So York shall taste what Clouet never knew, 
So from our works sublimer fumes shall rise ; 
While Nancy earns the praise to Shakespeare due, 
For glorious puddings and immortal pies." 

His devotion to this branch of 'fair science' is a 
(piaint trait in our poet's character. Like Pope, a 
weakling, he was probably more careful than Pope in 
the matter of diet ; but if not an epicure, he was at 
least fastidious and epicurean. Samuel Rogers told 
^litford "that Gray in London saw little Society. 
Had a nice dinner from the Tavern brought to his 
lodgings, a glass or two of sweet wine, and as he 
sippd it talked about great People'." This 'talking of 
great people' is another little weakness, over which 
one must pass lightly ; Gray's temptations and oppor- 
tunities lay in that direction; yet externals have 
more to do with contemporary judgments than pos- 
terity is able to realise; social prejudices, the influ- 
ence of cliques and coteries will cloud the strongest 
minds; those who are forced to labour at the first 
task that comes to hand, are not well-disposed to 
their more fortunate brethren of the pen who can 

J [Mitford, Add. Mss. Brit. Mus. 32,562, vol. iii. p. 188.] 

2—2 



20 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 

read or write at their leisure ; there is always a Grub 
Street in contrast with a Strawbeny Hill ; there are 
always Johnsons and Grays. The man who had to 
knock down the bullying Osborne with a folio was out 
of sympathy with the man who thought it beneath 
him to write for money, whose Odes Walpole printed 
and to whom Dodsley stood hat in hand. This did 
not affect Gray's estimate of Johnson's literary merit ; 
but surely some such feeling must explain Johnson's 
utterly unworthy criticism of Gray. Gray's social 
preferences did not betray him into fancies, except in 
the case of novels, and the stage; his liking for tlie 
younger Crdbillon and his imperfect appreciation of 
Fielding are in general contrast to his clear discern- 
ment elsewhere ; lie agrees again with Walpole in dis- 
paraging Garrick ; a coincidence of opinion the more 
noticeable, as the friends, estranged at this time, were 
writing independently. But he disagrees with Walpole 
over Johnson; praises 'London' and the 'Verses on 
the opening of Garrick's Theatre'; and never seems to 
have allowed his personal dislike to colour his opinion 
of Johnson's real merits, whether as a wTiter or a 
man. Walpole's aversion to Johnson on the contraiy 
is of that unreasoning and undiscriminating kind 
which belongs to social and literary and political sets ; 
we may smile, we who see men in their right propor- 
tion or perspective, when, whilst coveting the ac- 
quaintance of Anstey and Mason, he excuses himself 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 21 

for not desiring to know the 'bombastic' Johnson and 

the 'silly' Goldsmith, on the ground 'that he has seen 

Pope and lived with Gray'. 

Our interest in Gray at this date seems indeed a 

little disproportionate to the scant and fragmentary 

nature of his positive achievements. But he fascinates 

us still, because he is one of us; because he shows 

himself, especially in his letters, a modern; because 

we feel that in his company we are at the sources of a 

familiar stream. We cannot indeed believe that when 

good Mr Brown said of Gray that 'he never spoke out' 

he had anything in his mind but the fact that Gray 

did not acknowledge to his friends how near he felt 

his end to be; and the comments which have been 

made upon the simple statement of U petit bonhomme 

read like fanciful homilies on an inappropriate text. 

Matthias, the 'Pursuer of Literature' (as Porson called 

him) whilst he tells us that at Gray 

' Granta's dull abbots cast a side-long glance, 
And Levite gownsmen hugg'd their ignorance' 

adds that he 'was his own exceeding great reward' — 
and Matthias here contrives to blunder very near the 
truth. Gray's melancholy has been much exaggerated. 
It was as he cjuaintly tells us 'a leucocholy' — and 
when he says of himself 

' Fair science frown'd not on his humble birth 
And Melancholy marked him for her own' 

— he does but reproduce Milton's 'II Penseroso'. 
Gray was the child of his own epoch, and never so 



22 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 

much in advance of it, but that he could command 
many delighted readers when he pleased; and what 
happier lot could a man of letters crave than to com- 
bine freedom and leisure to follow his own bent, with 
that measure of success which Gray achieved in 
helping to give literature a new direction, amid much 
applause and homage in his life-time? His was not 
the type of mind, which an epoch of change, however 
momentous, could stimulate into production. He 
might have written letters or collected anecdotes 
about it; but there is no evidence whatever that it 
would have had any power to bring to the surface 
any latent springs of poetic thought and emotion. In 
his survey of contemporary events there is abundant 
curiosity and the keenest interest; there is never 
either much despondency or much enthusiasm. He 
lived through a period of great national depression, 
when as Cowper says 

' The inestimable Estimate of Brown 
Rose like a paper-kite and scared the town,' 

by convincing, as Macaulay explains, its readers that 
"they were a race of cowards and scoundrels; that 
nothing could save them, that they were on the point 
of being enslaved by their enemies, and that they 
riclily deserved their fate." He lived long enough to 
have been able, had he chosen, to say, before Cowper, 
that it was 

"praise enough 
To fill the ambition of a private man, 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 23 

That Chatham's language was his mother tongue 
And Wolfe's great name compatriot with his own." 

Yet ill his incidental treatment of public events 
lie has about as much ' high seriousness ' as a George 
Selwyn. One can compare his tone about them only 
to a smile, in which there is nothing either very glad 
or very sad ; and yet no indifference or apathy. He 
smiles in '46 over the defeat of Hawley at Falkirk ; 

" [At Cambridge] we talk of war, famine, and 
pestilence, with no more apprehension than of a 
broken head, or of a coach overturned between York 
and Edinburgh." 

Writing about the rebel Scotch Peers in the same 
year, he is diverting and graphic over Balmerino and 
Lovat and gently sympathetic over Cromartie ; but I 
question whether here or anywhere in his account of 
contemporary politics the reader could separate his 
manner or spirit from that of Walpole, by any generic 
difference. He smiles again in '56 over Byng's loss 
of Minorca ; 

" The British Flag, I fear, has behaved itself like 
a trained-band pair of colours in Bunhill Fields... I 
congratulate you on our glorious successes in the 
Mediterranean. Shall we go in time, and hire a house 
together in Switzerland? it is a fine poetical country 
to look at, and nobody there will understand a word 
we say or write." 

Again, Wolfe, floating down the St Lawrence in 



24 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 

the still night, on his way to his heroic death, re- 
peating in low tones to his brother officers the Elegy, 
the tender pathos of which seemed to his heart an 
achievement more glorious than victory, is a picture 
for all time ; as often as it recurs to the memory, we 
find it hard to call that a prosaic age, which produced 
this most striking of all authentic testimonies to the 
power of song. This is the soldier's tribute to the 
poet ; and what is the companion picture ? Why, 
briefly this; and if the contrast is a little shocking, 
let us blame, not the unconscious Gray, gossiping with 
a light heart, not knowing what would be expected of 
him, but rather the last development of the higher 
criticism : 

" [Pitt's] second speech was a studied and puerile 
declamation on funeral honours (on proposing a 
monument for Wolfe). In the course of it he wiped 
his eyes with one handkerchief, and Beckford (who 
seconded him) cried too, and wiped with two hand- 
kerchiefs at once, which was very moving." 

It was thus that Gray talked of ' Chatham's elo- 
quence' in connection with 'Wolfe's great name.' 
This is the Walpolean not the Wordsworthian spirit, 
and what alchemy can convert the one into the other ? 
In this Gray is, as already said, the true child of his 
epoch, and offers not a trace that he belonged, of 
spiritual right, to earlier or later days. A wise sentence 
of Mr Lowell's should be written in large letters, to 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 25 

warn us off by-paths in this matter. " It certainly was 
a comfortable time. If there was discontent, it was in 
the individual, not in the air ; sporadic, not epidemic. 
Responsibility for the Universe had not yet been 
invented. A few solitary persons saw a swarm of 
ominous question-marks wherever they turned their 
eyes ; but sensible people pronounced them the mere 
muscae voUtantes of indigestion which an honest dose 
of rhubarb would disperse. Men read Rousseau for 
amusement, and never dreamed that those flowers of 
rhetoric were ripening the seed of the guillotine." 

Gray read Rousseau ; sometimes, as he confesses, 
' heavily, heavily,' seeking that is, amusement, and 
finding it not; but for the signs of the times he 
consulted the weathercock. The last part of the 
letter to Wharton from which I quoted just now, is 
a w^eather and garden chronicle into which he slides 
from the statement that it is "a very critical time, an 
action being hourly expected between the two great 
Fleets, but no news as yet." It is as if we had Pepys 
and White of Selborne on the same page. But he 
has begun with a feeling account of the last illness 
of his friend Lady Cobham, and then has gone on to 
talk about house decoration in a very practical as 
well as aesthetic manner for the benefit of Wharton. 
Combine only this with a previous letter to the same 
correspondent in which he passes from Froissart to 
current political gossip, and we have abundant evi- 



26 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 

dence of a mind actively and wholesomely employed in 
the offices of friendship, in literature, art, in the 
'quidquid agunt homines' regarded with good humour- 
ed amusement, and in the minute study of Nature '. 
In a correspondence so full and varied we are jus- 
tified in declaring that the whole character of the 
man stands revealed to us. Here at any rate ' he 
speaks out' very plainly. And we shall find here 
private affections, deep but limited, and wonderfully 
little even of an invalid's despondency ; we shall find 
indeed local antipathies and prejudices, but to at- 
tribute Weltschmerz to him, or even any latent un- 
easiness pointing that way, is the merest anachronism. 
Let us repeat once more Mr Lowell's golden phrase 
" Responsibility for the Universe had not yet been 
invented." We are speaking now of England and 
Englishmen, and the most emphatic utterances which 
I can recollect of Gray's breathe the buoyant and 
cheerful public spirit of his age ; he reminds Horace 
Walpole that ' desperare de Republica is a deadly sin 
in polities'; and again, after quoting Gresset's 

Le cri d un peuple heureux est la seule Eloquence 
Qui spait parler des rois, 

he adds ' which is very true, and should have 

1 It may seem strange to associate Gray with Goethe ; yet 
it is certain that Gray and Goethe are demonstrative instances 
that the scientific exploration of Nature is compatible with 
a love of Nature on the imaginative side. 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 27 

been a hint to him not to write odes to the King 
at all.' 

"Born in the same year with Milton, Gray" we 
are told "would have been another man, born in the 
same year with Burns, he would have been another 
man." On the contrary, he would have been the 
same man, but a less finished artist, if he had been 
born in 1608. He would have been no more stirred 
by that eminently stirring time, than Sir Thomas 
Browne. In the year of Naseby Fight he might have 
been discussing with Browne whether the lion is 
afraid of the cock, and whether earwigs have wings. 
If he had loved young Edward King, we know 
already what sort of 'Lycidas' his would have been. 
The author would have bewailed his ' learned friend ' 
but he would never ' by occasion, have foretold the 
ruin of our corrupted clergy then in their height.' 
In whatever age he had lived it was not in the man 
to link private sorrow with public calamity. When 
he feels most acutely he cannot even moralize, in that 
tenderly human spirit of his which never grows old ; 
he can only complain. If we whose many con- 
ventionalisms are not only conventional but hideous, 
can forget for a moment that Gray in his Sonnet on 
the Death of West calls the sun 'Phoebus', it will be 
redeemed for us by this one touch of absolute sin- 
cerity, that it is only a cry of pain, real though 
disguised in music now a little trite to us. And 



28 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 

again he has the student's imagination, which does 
not feel great events in the present, but needs dis- 
tance and some obscurity to make them seem majestic. 
On whatever times he might have fallen, if he had 
attempted to sing of contemporary kings and battles, 
Apollo would have twitched his ear. We may be 
sure that he would have read and praised any im- 
mortal song; but his own soul would have rested 
with L' Allegro and II Penseroso and would never 
have migrated into Samson Agonistes ; and he might 
admire, through his fine critical and artistic sense, 
the insight and grand impartiality of Marvell's 
Horatian Ode, and see with Marvell's eyes, the 
tragedy at Whiteliall, but he would be disposed to 
rival the same Marvell only in the garden at Nun- 
appleton 

' Annihilating all that's made 
To a green thought in a green shade.' 

We have been looking backward, now let us look 
forward from Gray's time. Coleridge, like Gray, pro- 
duced too little poetry ; but we agree to find the 
explanation of this, not in the age, but in the man. 
The age, we say, is inspiring; perhaps whatever of 
enthusiasm there is in Coleridge is caught from it. 
In his case a want of physical and moral energy' 
accounts for everything ; a vis inertiw which prevails 
over the momentum which he has received from with- 
out. Gray's momentum comes from within; he writes 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 29 

to please himself ; publicity is with him always quite 
a secondary matter, and his choice of subjects is 
absolutely his own ; at the same time his owii age 
welcomes him, and would gladly have had more from 
him ; Gibbon, a representative name, regrets that the 
Poem on the Alliance of Education and Government 
is but a fragment ; in his life time Gray had less than 
the common share of adverse criticism, and his in- 
complete designs were on themes which, whilst they 
indicate his own taste and bias, were adapted to the 
scope and comprehension of ' an age of prose and 
reason.' Yet in his case, we are told, the age is 
responsible for his want of production. It is my 
conviction, though I have not space to develop it at 
large, that 'born in the same year as Burns', Gray, if 
he had lived at Cambridge (the Cambridge which we 
know from Gunning's Reminiscences) would have 
written even less great poetry, but perhaps more 
satirical verses and more prose ; what is certain is 
that his real impediments to production wei'e first 
feeble health, next his boundless and discursive 
curiosity, and next the extensive scale on which, like 
a man who has abundant knowledge, and seems to 
have abundant time before him, he formed his plans, 
ever delaying, until the consciousness that the day is 
far spent, makes him sad and silent about them. To 
these causes must be added his remoteness (by the 
deliberate choice of one to whom books and comfort 



30 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 

were necessities of existence) from those inspiring 
scenes, the beavity of which he was amongst the first 
to realize. The much abused prosaic eighteenth 
century was hastening to give us those improved 
communications which make so many of us Words- 
worthians once a year. Let us be just, amid our 
privileges, our raptures real or feigned over the 
sublimities of Nature, and our letters to the Times 
(bearing the unmistakeable accent of sincerity) on 
hotel bills and drainage, to the timid weakling who 
visited such scenes with difficulty and noted them 
lovingly, even though he brought to them or gained 
from them no emotions more abstruse than those 
which all men can share with him. Perhaps after all, 
he will survive by what we call his limitations, inas- 
much as that poetry is the most securely immortal 
which has gained nothing and can lose nothing by 
the vicissitudes of sentiment and opinion. We may 
be all the merest Peter Bells some day over a yellow 
primrose, and yet retain just enough sense of the 
correspondence between the world within us and the 
world without to feel the truth of that rejected stanza 
of the Elegy : 

' Hark how the sacred calm that broods around 
Bids every fierce tumultuous passion cease, 
In still small accents whisp'ring from the ground 
A grateful earnest of eternal Peace.' 

Wordsworth would never, let us add, have parted 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 31 

with that stanza from any consideration of structure. 
But the nineteenth century, which has learnt from 
liim that Poetry is an inspiration, will still return to 
Gray to learn that it is also an art. To Gray, it may 
be, rather than to Pope ; because the character of 
Gray's thought and themes belongs less to the occa- 
sional and the transient. 

It is scarcely a paradox to say that he has left much 
that is incomplete, but nothing that is unfinished. 
His handwriting represents his mind ; I have seen and 
transcribed many and many a page of it, but I do not 
recollect to have noticed a single carelessly written 
word, or even letter. The mere sight of it suggests re- 
finement, order, and infinite pains. A mind searching 
in so many directions, sensitive to so many influences, 
yet seeking in the first place its own satisfaction in a 
manner uniformly careful and artistic, is almost fore- 
doomed to give very little to the world ; it must be 
content, as the excellent Matthias says, to be ' its own 
exceeding great reward.' But what is given is a 
little gold instead of much silver ; a legal tender at 
any time, though it has never been soiled in the 
market. He claims our honour as one of those few 
who in any age have lived in the pursuit of the abso- 
lute best, and who help us to mistrust the glib facility 
with which we are apt to characterize epochs. In all 
that he has left, there is independence, sincerity, 
thoroughness ; the highest exemplar of the critical 



32 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 

spirit ; a type of how good work of any kind should 
be done. He studied Greek when few studied it, and 
when much that is now familiar to schoolboys was 
unknown to scholars, yet he read with all the exact- 
ness he could command as well as in the large fashion 
of a man of letters. He wrote with accents, generally, 
1 believe, rightly placed ; though in this respect his 
editors have declined to copy him. His notes, de- 
sigiied for his own use, have been frequently <pioted 
by the late Master of Trinity ; they prove very ex- 
tensive reading and comparison of authorities ; we 
may infer that in the absence of adequate aids he 
was often guided to the meaning more by the context 
than by verbal scholarship. To history he brought 
the modern spirit of research, which, like the cu- 
riosity of Herodotus and Froissart, is a kind of 
guarantee of impartiality, and virtually leaves to the 
secure judgment of the world the task of pi'onouncing 
sentence. His critical opinions are safe, because they 
are not controversial nor addressed to a public, but 
the outcome of impressions gathered at leisure by a 
mind at once comprehensive and exact. We are no 
losers by the circumstance that they were communi- 
cated only to his friends, for next in sincerity to tlie 
good criticism which may be found in some poetry, is 
that which we can extract from private letters'. 

1 Gray's friends caught something of his power of pointed 
expression. Mason has not received many compliments of 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 33 

And though Gray lived so much in the past, he is 
receptive in the present, cognizant of new tendencies 
and apt to resign himself to them, and to forego his 
penetration when these are concerned ; he would 
willingly believe in Macpherson's Ossian ; he is 
perhaps the only Englishman of note whom it affects, 
as it affected the Continentals; this is because his 
sensitive genius has a little shudder of presentiment, 
at this first breath of the reviving spirit of Romance. 
It is these characteristics which make him, as I have 
said, still modern for us in the best sense and justify 
the curious and minute interest which some feel in 
him now; it is at any rate the best account I am 
able to give of a sort of homage which seems to 
belong to much greater names, and yet which inclines 
one who has given much time to Gray, whilst perhaps 
half- smiling at his own enthusiasm, to repeat to his 
fascinating shade the invocation 

Vagliami '1 lungo studio e '1 grande amore 
Che m' han fatto cercar lo tuo volume. 



late ; but Mr Lowell pays him a very great one in attributing 
to Gray his saying "Jeremy Taylor is the Shakespeare of 
divines." 



SECTION I. 

UNPUBLISHED LETTERS, CHIEFLY OF 
FOREIGN TRAVEL; 

GRAY, WALPOLE AND ASHTON. 



3—2 



GRAY, WALPOLE, ASHTON. 

1. GRAY TO ASHTON. 

To M'" Ashtoii at the Honb^*= M'' Lewis's, in 
Hanover Square, London. 

My dear Asliton, 

It seems you have forgot the poor little 
tenement in which you so long lodg'd, and have set 
your heart on some line Castle in the Air : I wish I 
were Master of the Seat you describe, that I might 
make yr Residence more agreeable, but as it is, I 
fear you'll hardly meet with common Conveniences. 

I deserve you should be angry with me for have- 
ing been so little punctual, in paying my Dues, & re- 
turning thanks for your advice some time since. All 
is at present, mighty well, that is just as you remember 
it, & imagin'd it would be : cool enough not to burn, 
and warm enough not to freeze one, but methinks the 
Counsel you gave me, was what you did not think 
proper to make use of in like Circumstances yi'self ; 
perhaps you know why the same way of acting should 
be improper for you, & proper for me : I don't doubt 
but you have your reasons, & I trust you would not 
have me do anything wrong. 



38 UNPUBLISHED LETTERS. 

The account W: gives me of your way of Life is 
better than I expected, to be sure you must meet 
daily witli little particulars enough to fill a letter, 
and I should be pleasd -with the most minute. Has 
M''^ L : a pimple upon her nose ? does her Woman 
love Citron Water? &c: any of these would be a high 
regale for me. but perhaps you think it telling tales : 
you know best. Have you seen Madame Valmote ' ? 
naughty Woman ! was you at the Christening ? is 
the Princess with Child again ? was you at the 
review ? have you wrote e'er a Critique on the 
Accidence? is Despauterius" or Linacer most in your 
favor? but perhaps you think this tittle-tattle. Well ! 
you know best. Pot-fair is at its height ; there's old 
raffleing. Walpole is gone to Stamford, & to L5ain 
but returns in a day or two. I am gone to the 
Carrier's with this letter, and am 

ever yrs 

T. G. 

June 30— Cambridge. [1738] 

1 Amelia Sophia, wife of the Baron de Walmoden, and 
mistress of George II. She came to England after the death 
of Queen Caroline in 1737. The christening referred to above 
is that of George Augustus, afterwards George III., which took 
place in June 1738. 

" Jean Despautere, born at Ninove in Flanders, died 1520. 
His grammar was in vogue in France until superseded by that 
of the Port-Royal. 



GRAY, WALPOLE, ASHTON. 39 

2. GRAY TO ASHTON. 

Dear Ashton, 

You and West have made its happy to 
night in a heap of letters, & we are resolvd to 
repay you twofold. Our English perhaps may not be 
the best in the World, but we have the Comfort to 
know that it is at least as good as our French. So to 
begin. Paris is a huge round City, divided by the 
Seine, a very near relation (if we may judge by the 
resemblance) of your old acquaintance, that ancient 
river, the river Cam, along it on either side runs a 
key of perhaps as handsome buildings, as any in the 
World, the view down which on either hand from 
the Pont Neuf is the charming'st sight imaginable. 
There are infinite Swarms of inhabitants and more 
Coaches than Men, The Women in general dressd 
in Sacs, flat Hoops of 5 yards wide nosegays of 
artificial flowers on one shoulder, and faces dyed in 
Scarlet up to the Eyes. The Men in bags, roll-upps, 
Muff's & Solitaires. Our Mornings have been 
mostly taken up in Seeing Sights : few Hotels or 
Churches have escapd us, where there is anything 
remarkable as to building, Pictures or Statues. 

M'' Conway' is as usual, the Companion of our 

1 Walpole's maternal cousin, the Mr Conway and General 
Conway of his correspondence, second son of the first Lord Con- 
way, by Charlotte Shorter, his third wife, sister of Lady Walpole 



40 UNPUBLISHED LETTERS, 

travels, who, till we came, had not seen anything at 
all ; for it is not the fashion here to have Curiosity. 
We had at first arrival an inundation of Visits 
pouring in upon us, for all the English are acquainted, 
and herd much together & it is no easy Matter to 
ilisengage oneself from them, so that one sees but 
little of the French themselves. To be introduced to 
the People of high quality, it is absolutely necessary 
to be Master of the Language, for it is not to be 
imagined that they will take pains to understand 
anybody, or to correct a stranger's blunders. Another 
thing is, there is not a House where they do'nt play, 
nor is any one at all acceptable, unless they do so too, 
a professed Gamester being the most advantageous 
character a Man can have at Paris. The Abbds 
indeed & men of learning are a People of easy access 
enough, but few English that travel have knowledge 
enough to take any great pleasure in this Company, 
at least our present lot of travellers have not. We 
are, I think to remain here no longer than Ld^ 
Conway stays, & then set out for Rlieims, there to 
reside a Month or two, & then to return hither again 

...Commander in Chief 1782, Field Marshal 1793. He married 
the Dowager Countess of Aylesbury, daughter of John D. of 
Argyle; his only child by this marriage was Mrs Darner, the 
sculptor, to whom Walpole left Strawberry Hill. [Cunningham.] 
1 Elder brother of the Conway mentioned before. [After- 
wards Earl of Hertford, Marquis 1793; died 14th of June 1794. 
Cunningham.] 



GRAY, WALPOLE, ASHTON. 41 

& very often little hankerings break out, so that I am 
not sure, we shall not come back to-morrow. 

We are exceedingly unsettled & irresolute, do'nt 
know our own Minds for two Moments together, 
profess an utter aversion for all manner of fatigue, 
grumble, are ill-natured & try to bring ourselves to a 
State of perfect Apathy in which [we] are so far 
advanced, as to declare we have no notion of caring 
for any mortal breathing but ourselves. In short I 
think the gTeatest evil could have happen'd to us, is 
our liberty, for we are not at all capable to determine 
our own actions. 

My dear Ashton, I am ever 

Yours sincerely 

T: G: 

Paris — Hotel cle 
Luxembourg, Eue 
des petits Augustius 
April 21, N. S. [1739] 



3. GRAY TO ASHTON. 

My dear Ashton, 

I shall not make you any excuses, because I 
ca'nt : I shall not try to entertain you with descrip- 
tions for the same reason ; and moreover because I 
believe you do'nt care for them : so that you can 



42 UNPUBLISHED LETTERS. 

have no occasion to wonder at my brevity, when you 
consider me as confind to the narrow bounds of We, 
quatenus We, which I continue. 

Our tete a tete Conversations that you enquire 
after, did consist less in Words, than in looks 
and signs, & to give you a notion of them, I ought 
to send you our Pictures : tho' we should find it 
difficult to sit for 'em in such attitudes as we naturally 
fall into, when alone together. At present M'' Conway 
who lives with us, joins to make them a little more 
verbose, & everything is mighty well. On Monday 
next we set out for Rheims, (where we expect to be 
very dull) there to stay a Month or two, then we 
cross Burgundy & Dauphiny, & so go to Avignon, 
Aix, Marseilles &c. the Weatlier begins to be violently 
hot already even here, and this is our ingenious Con- 
trivance, as the Summer increases, to seek out cool 
retreats among the scorchd rocks of Provence. I 
will not promise, but that if next Winter bid fair for 
extreme Cold we shall take a trip to Muscovy. You 
in the mean time, will be quietly enjoying the tem- 
perate air of England, under yr own Vine, and under 
your own (at least under M"^ Lewis's) Figtree and I 
do'nt doubt but tlie fruits of your leisure will turn 
to more account, than those of our laborious pere- 
gi'ination, and while our thoughts are rambling about 
& changeing situation oftener than our bodies, you 
will be fixing your attention upon some weighty 



GRAY, WALPOLE, ASHTON. 43 

truth, worthy a Sage of yr honor's magnitude. The 
end of yr researches, I mean whatever your profound 
Contemplation brings to Hght, I shd be proud to be 
acquainted with, whether it please to be invokd under 
the appellation of Sermon, Vision, Essay or dis- 
course ; in short, on whatever head, you may chuse 
to be loquacious (Wall on Infant Baptism excepted) a 
dissertation will be very acceptable, and receivd with 
a reverence due to the hand it comes from. 

We have seen here your ''Gustavus Vasa' " that 
had raisd the general expectation so high, long ago. 
a worthy piece of pr(ihibited Merchandise, in truth ! 
The Town must have been extreme mercifully dis- 
posd ; if for the sake of ten innocent lines that may 
peradventure be pickd out, it had consented to spare 
the lives of the ten thousand wicked ones, that 
remain. I dont know what condition your Stage is 
in, but the French is in a very good one at present. 
Among the rest they have a Mad'^" DumeniP whose 

1 Walpole writing to West from Rbeims June 18, 1739 N.S., 
describing his exercises in French says 'Besides this, I have 
paraphrased half the first act of your new ' Gustavus ' whicli 
was sent us to Paris ; a most dainty performance, and just 
what you say of it.' Henry Brooke's 'Gustavus Vasa' was pro- 
hibited by Sir E,obert Walpole's Act for Licensing Plays. The 
prohibition called forth Johnson's ironical ' Vindication of the 
Licensers of the Stage.' Brooke subsequently wrote 'The Fool 
of Quality,' a novel, by which he is better known. 

- Marie FranQoise Dumesnil, of the Comedie Frangaise, 
born in 1711, retired from the stage 7 April 1776 and died in 



44 UNPUBLISHED LETTERS. 

every look and gesture is violent Nature, she is Passion 
itself, incarnate. 

I saw her the other Night do the Phsedra of 
Racine, in a manner which affected me so strongly, 
that as you see, I ca'nt help prattling about her even 
to you, that do not care two Pence. 

You have got my Ld Conway ' then among Ye : 
what do People think about him, & his improve- 
ments ? You possibly see him sometimes, for he 
visits at M''^ Conduit's, is he charming, and going to 
be married like M'' Barrett ? Pray ^vrite to me & per- 
suade West to do the same, who, unless you rouse 
him, & preach to him, what a Sin it is to have the 
vapours, & the dismals, will neglect himself; I 
wont say his friends ; that I believe him to be in- 
capable of : I again recommend him to yr Care, that 

1803, just after she had published her Memoirs under the editor- 
ship of M. Coste. There is an interesting article about her in 
the Biographie Universelle. Voltaire in an Essay "Des Divers 
Changements arrives a I'art tragique" — written in 1761, says of 
her. ..'pour le grand pathetique de Taction, nous le vimes la 
premiere fois dans Mademoiselle Dumesnil ' (Works ed. 1832, 
vol. 65, p. 86). She seems to have shared the favour of the 
Parisian public with Mile Clairon. Walpole thought her 
superior to Mrs Siddons. Writing to the Countess of Ossory 
3 Nov. 1782, he says "All Mrs Siddons did, good sense or 
good instruction might give. I dare say that were I one and 
twenty, I should have thought her marvellous: but alas! 
I remember Mrs Porter and the Dumesnil" &c. &c. (Works 
ed. Cunningham, viii. 295.) 
1 See p. 40, n. 1. 



GRAY, WALPOLE, ASHTON. 45 

you may nourish him, and cherish him & administer 
to him, some of that cordial Spirit of Chearfuhiess 
that you used to have the receipt of. 

My Compliments to my Lord'. Good night 

Yours ever 
T. G. 

4. GRAY AND WALPOLE TO ASHTON. 

To 
M"^ Ashton 
at M" Lewis's 
Hanover Square 
London 
Franc h Paris 

My dear Ashton, 

The exceeding Slowness and Sterility 
of me, & the vast abundance & volubility of M' 
Walpole & his Pen will sufficiently excuse to you 
the shortness of this little matter. He insists that it 
is not him but his Pen that is so volubility, & so I 
have borrowed it of him ; but I find it is both of 'em 
that is so volubility, for tho I am writing as fast, as 
I can drive, yet he is still chattering in vast abun- 
dance. I have desired me to hold his tongue, pho, I 
mean him, & his, but his Pen is so used to wi-ite in 
the first Person, that I have screwd my finger and 
1 Lord Plymouth, to whom Ashton was Tutor. 



46 UNPUBLISHED LETTERS. 

thumb off, with forcing it into the third. After all 
this confusion of Persons, & a little Stroke of Satyr 
upon me the Pen returns calmly back again into the 
old / and 77ie, as if nothing had happened, to tell you 
how much I am tired, & how cross I am, that this 
cursed Scheme of Messrs Selwyn & Montague' should 
have come across all our Measures, & broke in upon 
the whole year, which, what with the Month we have 
to wait for them, & the Month they are to stay 
here, will be entirely slipt away, at least, the agreable 
Part of it, and if we journey at all, it will be thro' 
dirty roads and falling leaves. 

The Man, whose arguments you have so learnedly 
stated, & whom you did not think fit to honour with 
a Confutation, we from thence conceive to be one, 
who does us honour, in thinking us fools, & so you 
see, I lay my claim to a share of the glory ; we 
are not vastly curious about his name, first because 
it do'nt signify, 2dly because we know it already ; it 
is either S'' T : G : himself, or yr friend M"" Fenton, if 
it's them we do'nt care, & if it is not, we do'nt care 

J Walpole to West, Elieims, July 20, 1739, writes ' This is 
the day that Gray and I intended for the first of a southern 
circuit; but as Mr Selwyn and George Montagu design us a 
visit here we have put off our journey for some weeks.' [George 
Augustus Selwyn the wit. He was at Eton with Walpole, who 
was about two years his senior. Cunningham.] Montagu is 
of course Walpole's correspondent, concerning whom see Cun- 
ningham's ed. of Walpole's Letters, vol. i. p. 2, n. 4. 



GRAY, WALPOLE, ASHTON. 47 

neither, but if you care to convince the Man, whoever 
lie be, that we are in some points not altogether 
fools, you might let him know that we are most 
sincerely 



Kheims— July. [1739] 



Yours 
H W. (p 



5. GEAY TO ASHTON. 

Eheims. 25 Aug. N: S [1739] 
My dear Ashton, 

I am not so ignorant of Pain myself as 
to be able to hear of anothers Sufferings, without any 
Sensibility to them, especially when they are those of 
one, I ought more particularly to feel for : tho' in- 
deed the goodness of my own Constitution, is in some 
sense a misfortune to me, for as the health of every- 
body I love seems much more precarious than my 
own, it is but a melancholy prospect to consider 
myself as one, that may possibly in some years be 
left in the World, destitute of the advice or Good 
Wishes of those few friends, that usd to care for me, 
and without a likelihood or even a desire of gaining 
any new ones, this letter will, I hope, find you 
perfectly recoverd, & your own painful experience 
Avill, for the future, teach you not to give so much in 
to a Sedentary Life, that has [I] fear been the Cause 
of your illness. Give my duty to your Mind, & tell 
her she has taken more care of herself, than of my 



48 UNPUBLISHED LETTERS. 

tother poor friend, your Body, & bid her hereafter 
remerober how nearly her Welfare is connected with 
Ms: tell her too that she may pride herself in her 
great family, & despise him for being a poor Mortal, 
as much as she pleases, but that he is her wedded 
husband, & if he suffers, she must smart for it. my 
inferences you will say, do'nt follow very naturally, 
nor have any great relation to what has been said, 
but they are as follows. Mess""^ Selwin and Montagu 
have been here these 3 weeks, are by this time 
pretty heartily tired of Rheims, & return in about a 
Week. The day they set out for England, we are to 
do the same for Burgundy, in our way only as it is 
said to Province', but People better informd con- 
ceive that Dijon will be the end of our expedition, 
for me, I make everything that does not depend on 
me, so indifferent to me, that if it be to go to the 
Cape of Good Hope I care not : if you are well 
enough, you will let me know a little of the history 
of West who does not remember there is such a place 
as Champagne in the world. 

Your's ever 
T. G. 
To 
M' Ashton at M"^^ Lewis's pour I'Angleterre 

in Hanover Square franc jusqu'a Paris 

London 

franc a Paris. 

1 Sic ap. Mitfoid. 



GEAY, WALPOLE, ASHTON. 49 



6. WALPOLE AND GRAY TO ASHTON. 

Eome, May 14, 1740 N. E. 

Boileau's Discord dwelt in a College of Monks', at 
present the Lady is in the Conclave. Corsini has been 
interrogated about certain Millions of Crowns that 
are absent from the Apostolic Chamber ; He refuses 
giving an account, but to a Pope. However he has 
set several arithmeticians to work, to compose Summs, 
& flourish out expenses, which probably never ex- 
isted. Cardinal Cibo pretends to have a Banker 
at Genoa, who will prove that he has received three 
Millions on the Part of the Eminent Corsini. This 
Cibo is a madman, but set on by others. He had 
formerly some great office in the government, from 
whence they are generally raised to the Cardinalate. 
after a time, not being promoted as he expected, he 
resigned his Post, and retired to a Mountain where 
he built a most magnificent Hermitage. There he 
inhabited for two years, grew tired, came back and 
received the Hat. 

Other feuds have been between Card. Portia and 
the father of Benedict the Thirteenth, by whom he 
was made Cardinal. About a month ago, he was 
within three votes of being Pope; he did not apply 
to any Party, but went gleaning privately from all. 
^ ' Le Lutrin ' chant 1. 
G. 4 



50 UNPUBLISHED LETTERS. 

and of a sudden burst out with a Number, but too 
soon, and that threw him quite out. Having been 
since left out of their meetings, he askd one of the 
Benedictine Cardinals the reason, who replied that he 
never had been their friend and never should be of 
their assemblies, & did not even hesitate to call 
him Apostate. This flung Portia into such a rage 
that he spit blood, and instantly left the Conclave 
with all his baggage. But the great Cause of their 
antipathy to him, was, his having been one of the 
four, that voted for putting Coscia to death, who 
now regains his interest, & may prove somewhat 
disagreeable to his Enemies: whose honesty is not 
abundantly heavier than his own. He met Corsini 
t'other day, and told him, he heard his eminence had 
a mind to his Cell : Corsini answerd, he was very well 
contented with that he had. Oh! says Coscia, I 
do'nt mean here in the Conclave, but in the Castle 
St Angelo. 

With all these animosities, one is near having a 
Pope'. Card. Gotto, an old, inoffensive Dominican, 
Avithout any Relations, wanted yesterday but two 
voices, and is still most likely to succeed. Card. 
Altieri has been sent for from Albano, whither he 

1 Clement XII. had recently died. [Gray to his mother 
from Florence, March 19, 1740.] His successor was Benedict 
XIV. [ami;singly described, same to the same from Florence, 
Aug. 21, 17-iO.] 



GRAY, WALPOLE, ASHTOX. 51 

Avas retird on acct of liis brothers death, & his own 
illness, & where he was to stay till the Election 
drew nigh. There! There is a sufficient quantity 
of Conclave News I think... 

We have miserable Weather for the season. Could 
you think I was writing to you by my fireside at 
Rome in the middle of May? the Common People 
say 'tis occasioned by the Pope's soul, which cannot 
find rest. 

How goes your War ? We are persuaded here of an 
additional one with France, Lord! it will be dreadful 
to return thro' Germany. I do'nt know who cooks 
up the news here, but we have some strange Peice 
every day. One that is much in vogue, & would 
not be disagreeable for us, is, that the Czarina' has 
clapt the Marquis de la Chdtardie in Prison ; one must 
hope till some months hence, 'tis all contradicted, 

^ The Czarina was Anne, who died on the 28th of October of 
this year. The Marquis de la Chetardie had been Ambassador 
at Berhn. Carlyle (Frederick the Great, vol. in. p. 180 People's 
ed.) under year 1734 describes him as "a showy restless 
character, of fame in the Gazettes of that time; who did 
much intriguing at Petersburg some years hence, first in a 
signally triumphant way, and then in a signally untriumphant." 
The Crown Prince (afterwards Frederick the Great) ' took a 
good deal to him' at this date. He was the lover of the 
Princess Elizabeth and intrigued with " a Surgeon called 
L'Estoc" to set her on the throne of Kussia; Dec. 5th, 1741, 
displacing the Eegent Anne (Princess Catherine of Mecklen- 
burg. Carlyle, lb. iv. 180—183). 

4—2 



52 UNPUBLISHED LETTERS. 

I am balancing in great uncertainty, whether to 
go to Naples, or to stay here. You know 'twould be 
provoking to have a Pope chosen just as one's back is 
turnd: and if I wait, I fear the heats may arrive. 
I do'nt know what to do. We are going to night to 
a gTeat assemblee at one of the villas just out of the 
City, whither all the English are invited; amongst 
the rest M'' Stuard ' and his two Sons. There is one 
lives with him calld Lord Dunbar^, Murray's brother 
who would be his Minister, if he had any occasion for 
one — I meet him frequently in Public Places & like 
him. He is very sensible, very agreable, & well 
bred. 

Good night Child; by the bye, I have had no 
letters from England these two last Posts. 

Yrs ever. 

I am by trade a finisher of Letters, don't you 
wonder at the Conclave? Instead of being immur'd, 
every one in his proper hutch as one us'd to imagine, 
they have the Liberty of scuttling out of one hole 

1 The Old Pretender. Gray describes this ball in a letter 
to West of May 21 (Works, ed. Gosse ii. 76 lett. 32). There 
" II Serenissimo Pretendente (as the Mautova gazette calls 
him) displayed his rueful length of person, with his two young 
ones, and all his ministry around him." 

- See also Gray's letter to his Father July 16, 1740. The 
ball was given by Count Patrizii to the Prince and Princess 
Craon. 



GRAY, WALPOLE, ASHTON. 53 

into anotliei*, ....... 

. I do assure you, every thing one lias heard 
say of Italy, is a lye, & am firmly of opinion, that no 
mortal was ever here before us. I am writeing to 
prove that there never was any such a People as the 
Romans, that this was antiently a Colony of the Jews, 
and that the Coliseum was built on the model of 
Solomon's temple. Our People have told so many 
Stories of them, that they do'nt believe any thing we 
say about ourselves. Porto Bello' is still said to be 
impregnable and it is reported the Dutch have 
declar'd War against us. The English Court here, 
brighten up on the news of our Conquests, and 
conclude all the Contrary has happen'd. You do not 
know perhaps, that we have our little good fortune in 
the Mediterranean, where Adm'. Haddock ° has over- 

1 It was of course already taken, by Admiral Vernon with 
his six ships, Nov. 21, 1739. 

- Walpole writing to West from Rome, May 7 of this year, 
says ' We heard the news last night from Naples that Admiral 
Haddock had met the Spanish convoy going to Majorca, and 
taken it all, all ; three thousand men, three colonels, and a 
Spanish grandee. We conclude it is true, for the Neapolitan 
Majesty mentioned it at dinner.' On which Wright notes 
"This report, which proved unfounded, was grounded on the 
fact that on the 18th April his Majesty's ships Lennox, Kent, 
and Orford, commanded by Captains Mayne, Durell, and 
Lord Augustus Fitzroy, part of Admiral Balchen's squadron, 
being on a cruise about forty leagues to the westward of Cape 
Finisterre, fell in with the Princessa, esteemed the finest ship 
of war in the Spanish navy, and captured her after an engage- 



54 UNPUBLISHED LETTERS. 

turiid certain little boats carrying Troops to Majorca, 

drown'd a few hundred of them, and taken a little 

Grandee of Spain, that commanded the Expedition. 

at least, so they say at Naples. I'm very sorrj'. but 

methinks they seem in a bad Condition. Is West 

dead to the world in general, or only so to me? for 

you I have not the impudence to accuse, but you 

are to take this as a sort of reproof, and I hope you 

will demean yourself accordingly. You are hereby 

authoriz'd to make my particular Compliments to 

my L*^ Plymou.th', and return him my thanks de 

I'honneur de son Souvenir. So I finish my Postcript 

with 

Your's ever 

T. G. 

7. WALPOLE TO ASHTON. 

Eome. May 28- 1740 N.S. 
Dear Child, 

I have just received your Letter of news ; I 
had heard before of Symphony's affair, with Lady — . 
but they calld it a report ; but I find like many 
stories of that kind 'tis true. What r are We to be 

ment of five hours." (Letters of Horace Walpole eel. Cunning- 
ham, voL I. pp. 46, 47, lett. 29.) 

1 Ashton was Tutor to the Earl of Plymouth. [Mitforcl.] 
- Possibly 23, for Mitford's ms is doubtful here. 
3 Written by Mitford without this note of interrogation, but 
it is necessary for clearness. 



GRAY, WALPOLE, ASHTON. 55 

to appear before the H : of Lords ? are there to be 
damages? or is it to be blowu over, with only a 
separate Maintenance for the Fair One ? I am sorry 
he has obviously established such a Character. Tis 
too soon to be arrived at one's ne plus ultra. I 
doubt 'tis all the fame he will ever be master of, & tis 
horrid to begin where one must end. 

By a considerable volume of Charts and Pyramids 
which I saw at Florence, I thought it threatend a 
Publication. His travels have really improvd him ; 
I ^vish they may do the same for any one else. 

West has sent me a letter of Fragments, which 
not being antique, I am extremely angry, are not 
compleat. 

' Nor cease the Maiden Graces fi-om above 
To shower their fragrance on the fields^ of Love.' 

I desire you will set him to digging in the same 
Spot, where he found these verses, for the other parts 
of the Poem. I took them for his own ; but upon 
showing them to a great virtuoso here, he assures 
me they are undoubtedly ancient, by one of the best 
hands, & in the true greek Taste. 

This is the first day, we have had, that one can 
call warm ; they say, in England you have not a leaf 
yet on the Trees. 

I have made a Vow against Politics, or I w*^ wish 

^ ? field or fields, — doubtful in ms. 



56 UNPUBLISHED LETTERS. 

you joy of your W* Indian Conquests. One shall not 
know you again. You will be so martial all. Here 
one should not know, if there had ever been such a 
thing as War, if it were not now and then from 
seeing a Scrap' of a Soldier on an old Bas-relief. 
Tis comical to see a hundred & twenty thousand 
inhabitants in a City where you scarce ever see one 
that has not taken a vow never to propagate; But 
they say there are larger Parsley beds here than in 
other Countries. Dont talk of our Coronation ; 'tis 
never likely to happen. The divisions are so great 
between the Albani and Corsini factions, that the 
Conclave will probably be drawn out to a great length. 
With Albani are his Uncle's Creatures, the Spanish 
& Neapolitan factions, and the Zelanti ; a set of 
Cardinals, who always declare agst any Party, and 
profess being solely in the interest of the Church. 
With Corsini are the late Pope's Creatures, and the 
Dependents of France. 

M""^ G.' writes me word how much goodness she met 
with in Hanover Sqre. Poor Creature ! You know, 
how much it obliges me, my dear Ashton, & if that 
can give you any Satisfaction, as I well believe it 
does, be assurd, it touches me in the strongest 
Manner. It obliges me in a Point that relates to my 
Mother, & that is all I can say in this World ! You 

^ Sic apparently. 

i pp. 3—5, 60. • 



GRAY, WALPOLE, ASHTON. 57 

must make my particular' to M''^ Lewis ; her kind- 
ness to M''^ G : is adding to the severall great obli- 
gations I have to her. 'Tis a pleasure to receive 
such from one who acts from no Motives, but innate 
goodness and benevolent virtue. You must not tell 
that poor Woman, what I am now going to mention. 
I fear we shall not see Naples. We have been setting 
out for some time ; and if we do not" to be back by 
the end of this month, it will be impraticable from 
the heats, and the bad air, in the Campania- but we 
are prevented by a great body of banditti, Soldiers 
deserted from the King of Naples, who have taken 
Possession of the roads, & not only murderd several 
Passengers, but some Sbirri who were sent agst them. 
Among others was a poor Hermit, who had a few old 
Medals which he had dug up, that they took for 
Money. The Poverty of the Roman States and the 
mutinous humor of the inhabitants who grow des- 
perate for want of a Pope, thro' decay of trade, & a 
total want of Specie are likely to encrease the bands, 
while the Conclave sits, so that I fear we are Prisoners 
at Rome, till the Election. I should not at all dis- 
like my Situation, if I were entirely at Liberty & had 
nothing to call me to England. I shall but too soon 
miss there the Peace I enjoy here ; I do'nt mention 

1 Sic ap. Mitford. 

- I think this is the reading, the meaning being, ' if we do 
not set out, so as to return &c.' 



58 UNPUBLISHED LETTERS. 

the pleasures I enjoy here, which are to be found in 
no other City in the World, but them I could give up 
to my friends with satisfaction. But I know the 
Causes that drove me out of England, and I do'nt 
know that they are remedied. But adieu ! when I 
leave Italy, I shall launch out into a Life, whose 
Colour I fear, will have more of black than of White. 

Yrs— 

ever. 

8. lASHTON TO WALPOLE. 

My dearest Walpole 

Since the last letter I received from you 

which tho' it gave me the Pleasure of yr Recovery "^ 

did not however rid me from the fear of a Relapse I 

have not been able this Week to pick up one Syllable 

relating to you. ...Judge you what I have felt, an 

interval of 7 weeks, without one word of intelligence 

after so dangerous an indisposition, in so remote a 

place unattended, as I feard, with Physician or 

friend. I went from Somerset House to Downing St. 

& from Downing Str. to Somerset House, but still 

nothing. I Avould fain have persuaded poor M^' Gr: 

and myself that if any thing ill had happend we 

must have heard. My apprehensions would have it, 

1 Mitford Add. mss. 32,562, p. 210. 

- For Walpole's illness at Reggio see sect. ii. lett. 33 u. 1. 



GRAY, WALPOLE, ASHTON, 59 

that that Avas at best conjecture. It might be so, 
but it might be otherwise. So dextrously did we 
impose a cruel deceit upon ourselves, by admitting 
no Probability that would make for us, and by 
stretching' every Possibility of the Contrary into a 
Demonstration. In short we feard and felt the worst. 
If one had told me you were actually dead, it would 
have been no news to me. I had already attended 
you to the grave & had become as lifeless as if I 
had been laid there mth you. I do solemly protest 
to you that I would not feel again what I have done 
on this occasion, no, not for the inexpressible satis- 
faction of knowing the contrary. My senses are so 
benumbd, with so long a concern, that it was almost 
beyond the Power of any Pleasure to recall 'em. Dear 
M" G, I thank her, did all she could ; indeed I am 
infinitely obligd to her. She enclosd yr letter to me 
the moment she receivd it. I trembled when I opend 
hers, but when I saw the jewel within, I do not know 

or cannot tell you what I did This is the third 

Letter I have Avrote to you, since I have had yrs. My 
dear Walpole, I speak sincerely to you. I w^ould not 
for the World go over that time again, which I have 
passd since you left England. I would not, I do 
assiire you. ...I am like a Man who has been tossd 
about a Jong Winter's Night in uneasy dreams. I 
have been draggd thro rivers and thrown down 
1 Possibly 'straining', for Mitford's ms is difficult here. 



60 UNPUBLISHED LETTERS. 

Precipices. Oli ! it has been a weary Night. Come 
dear "Walpole and bring the day. I would say a 
thousand things to you, but I will think of nothing 
but yrself. Tell me for Gods sake all yr intended 
Motions and let em be homeward all. Trifle not with 
a Constitution which carries more lives in it than 
your own. 

Acton (?) July 5. 1741. 

tP.S.] 

I have not been able to see M'"^ Gr: since your 
letter; I will go [on?] perhaps next Week to rejoice 
with her. Believe me, I am much obliged to her. 

West is hie & nbique...at Paris', at London, in 
the Country. I never see him. He talks of the 
Army^ the Law & the Ministry. He suspects 

some disagrement between you and ^ I hope 

the broken bone will be stronger when set. M"^^ 

came to me in such a Manner as makes me 

believe she knows the whole*. 

^ Vide sect. ii. lett. 32 infra. 

2 Sect. II. lett. 33 infra. 

3 'Sic MS.' [Mitford.] 

^ The objections to identifying M'** Gr: or G. with the 
mother of the poet are (1) that she seems to be a different per- 
son from the M" of this Postscript, (2) that there is no proof 

of her solicitude about Gray himself. The second difiQculty 
may be to some extent explained. For Mason tells us that 
"When Mr Gray left Venice, which he did in the midst of July, 
he returned home through Padua, Verona, Milan, Turin and 



GRAY, WALPOLE, ASHTON, 61 

Lyons. From all which places he writ either to his Father or 
Mother with great punctuality : but merely to inform them of 
his health and safety: about which (as might be expected) they 
were now very anxious, as he travelled with only a 'Laquais de 
Voyage '." It is uncertain whether Mason had seen any letters 
of Gray from Venice ; but it is most improbable that Gray left 
his mother unacquainted with his movements at any time after 
his separation from Walpole. Mr C. Vade Walpole obligingly 
informs me that he knows of no M"'^ G. connected in any way 
with his family at this date, who fulfils the conditions of this 
correspondence. I leave this peri^lexing problem in medio. 



SECTION II. 

CORRESPONDENCE AND REMAINS OF 
RICHARD WEST. 

[Letters &c. marked * have not before been published. The 
text of the other letters is from Mason's ' Gray ' and Cunning- 
ham's 'Letters of Walpole', Vol. L] 



SECTION II. 

WEST. 

The famous singer Carlo Broschi (who probably took 
the name Farinelli from his uncle the composer) was in 
England during the years 1734, 5 and 6. What Ashton 
means infra is, I think, that Gray has left London, where 
Farinelli is singing, and that Walpole has gone thither. 

1. * ASHTON TO WEST, 

Jau>- 29. (1735 or 6) i. 
...Gray is happily escapd from the Sirens' song tho' 
Farinelli^ joined in the concert. Walpole has now 
left us with a full resolution to taste of every fruit in 
that Paradise, except the forbidden tree. I hope 
you will see him often while he stays in Town... 

I fancy I have told you that a wild young Poet of 
Trinity College has taken a mad flight out of a 
garret Window'' : but finding no Castle in the air to 
rest at, his wings failed him and so he dropt. His 

1 It must be 1736 if we can be certain that Walpole was 
not in Cambridge before March 11, 1735. Cf. p. 72 infra, n. 1. 

- For Farinelli in England see Grove's Diet, of Music and 
Musicians, aud the 4tli Plate of Hogarth's ' Marriage a la mode.' 

•^ No record of this exploit exists at Trinity, as Dr Aldis 
Wright, the Vice-Master, has kindly ascertained for me. 

G. 5 



66 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

Life is not despaird of. If I have not told you this 
before 'tis news. If I have, you may toss this stupid 
letter by as an old Evening Post. 

Yrs ever 

ASHTON, 

The incident referred to in the following letter, taxes 
the date to October 1735. 

" The matter related to the attempt of the Heads to 
nominate the persons who were to be Proctors, and the 
Vice-Cbancellor admitted Trant (Chr.) as Proctor instead 
of Caryl (Jes.), who had more votes than the other in the 
Senate. Against this Caryl appealed.^ " 

2. * ASHTON TO WEST. 

Thrice-highest Zephyrille, 

The substance of yr last letter was a com- 
plaint for the loss of three friends, and an en(j[uiry 
after them. What intelligence concerning them may 
be collected from my information, hear shortly. 

To begin with the last, first. I can answer for 
one. The other Two are almost strangers to me. I 
have seen neither of them these 4 months. Walpole 
I have not heard from this fortnight, nor Gray this 
Age. The Papers say Walpole is for Italy instantly, 
this Piece of News does biit ill correspond with the 

1 Kindly communicated by Dr Lnard, the University 
Registrary. 



OF E. WEST. 67 

last letter I had from him ; but what reasons he 
may have since to alter his resolution, is to me a 
mystery. 

Lord Conway' is in this Part of the World — a 
fall from his Horse at New Market has bruisd his 
arm, but I hope, not dangerously. We have had 
some bustle here about the election of Proctor, the 
heads of Colleges have chosen one, whom the White 
Hoods declare unduly elect : the affair may be of 
Service to Innkeepers & La^vyers. I am surprizd to 
hear such poor paltry harangues as are utterd once a 
week from the Rostra of this Nurse of Science, a 
good Sermon would be a great novelty. Pray are 
they as rare with you ? I dont know what they may 
be now. What they were 230 years agon I can tell. 
You shall have a specimen. The University had, 
says my Historian, three gentlemen, and three only, 
capable of Preaching. It so liappend that in the 
absence of these three Concionators, M"' Taverner of 
Woodeaton, a gentleman of great repute for learning, 
& Sheriff for the County entered the Pulpit, with 
Sword by his side and gold Chain round his Neck, & 
thus from his Stone-Tub begunn. 'Arriving at the 
Mount of St. Maries, in the Stony (?)', where I now 
stand, I have brought you some fine biskets baked in 
the oven of Charity, carefully conserved for the 
Chickens of the Church, the Sparrows of the Spirit & 

1 See p. 40, n. 1. - Word illegible. 

5—2 



68 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

the Swallows of Salvation &c. Now to God the 
Father &c. I heartily commend you.' T. Ashton. 

Received yr letter at Lancaster and answerd it, as 
you know, I am sure by this time. 

When I have any further intelligence from the 
lost men, you shall certainly know — till then, & after 
then, I am yrs — 

entirely. 

3. WEST TO GRAY. 

You use me very cruelly : you have sent me but 
one letter since I have been at Oxford, and that too 
agreeable not to make me sensible how great my loss 
is in not having more. Next to seeing you is the 
pleasure of seeing your hand-writing ; next to hearing 
you is the pleasure of hearing from you. Really and 
sincerely I wonder at you, that you thought it not 
worth while to answer my last letter. I hope this 
will have better success in behalf of your quondam 
school-fellow ; in behalf of one who has walked hand 
in hand with you, like the two children in the wood, 

Through many a flowery path and shelly grot, 
Where learning luU'd us in her private maze. 

The very thought, you see, tips my pen with poetry, 
and brings Eton to my view. Consider me very 
seriously here in a strange country, inhabited b)' 
things that call themselves doctors and masters of 



OF R. WEST. 69 

arts; a country flowing with syllogisms and ale, 
Avhere Horace & Virgil are equally unknown ; consider 
me, I say, in this melancholy light, and then think if 
something be not due to 

Yours. 

Christ Church. Nov. 14. 1735. 

P.S. I desire you will send me soon, and truly 
and positively, a History of your own time. 

To this Gray replied 'When you have seen one of my 
days you have seen a whole year of my life; they go 
round and round like the blind horse in the mill.... 
I must not send you the history of my own time, till I 
can send you that also of the reformation.' This is from 
Letter il. in Mr Gosse's edition (vol. ii.), and is obviously 
in answer to the above letter of West's, and carries on, as 
Mason remarks, the allusion to the writings of Bishop 
Burnet, West's grandfathei\ With Letter i. (ed. Gosse) 
which is subsequent to Letter ii., and to which alone the 
date May 8, 1736 belongs, Gray sends to West a portion 
of his translation from Statius, with the words Tor this 
little while last past I have been playing with Statius ; we 
yesterday had a game of quoits together. You will easily 
forgive me for having broke his head, as you have a little 
pique to him.' It is probable that INIason has garbled 
West's reply to this by fusing, more suo, separate letters 
together, for the line which West selects for comment was 
not included {teste Mitford) in that part of the translation 
which was sent to him on May 8th by Gray. It is just 
possible of course that another letter of Gray's has been 
lost. 



70 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

4. WEST TO GRAY. 

I agree with you that you have broke Statius''* 
head, but it is in like manner as Apollo broke 
Hyacinth's, you have foiled him infinitely at his 
own weapon. I must insist on seeing the rest of your 
translation, and then I will examine it entire, and 
compare it with the Latin, and be very wise and 
severe, and put on an inflexible face, such as becomes- 
the character of a true son of Aristarchus, of hyper- 
critical memory. In the mean while, 

And calm'd the terrors of his claws in gold 

is exactly Statius — Summos' auro mansueverat un- 
gues. I never knew before that the golden fangs on 
hammercloths were so old a fashion. Your Hj'meneaP 

1 'extrenaos' in Statius. 

- On the Marriage of Frederic, Prince of Wales. See 
Works of Gray ed. Gosse, vol. i., p. 168 sq. Ashton writes to 
West April 11th, 1736 : 

*" My dear Zephyrille 

Have you composd yr Epithalamium? and in what 
Shape will it appear? do you dart(?) yourself above the 
Clouds on a Pindaric Wing, or do you chant Ovidian Strains 
upon a Sprig of Myrtle? does your happy-daring Muse aspire 
to the aery {sic) tracts of the Mantuan Swan, or will she 
humbly condescend to hop from spray to spray with the 
Sparrow of Catullus?. ..My dear, I am confident that in what- 
ever manner she come, she will be perfectly wellbred... Master 
Gray seems to touch upon the manner of Claudian. My own 
Lady closes her lips on this occasion. I hardly know whether 
she is more apprehensive of interrupting their Highnesses 



OF R. WEST. 71 

I was told was the best in the Cambridge collection 
before I saw it, and indeed, it is no great compliment 
to tell you I thought it so when I had seen it, but 
sincerely it pleased me best. Methinks the college 
bards have run into a strange taste on this occasion. 
Such soft unmeaning stuff about Venus and Cupid, 
anfi Peleus and Thetis, and Zephyrs and Dryads, was 
never read. As for my poor little Eclogue, it has 
been condemned and beheaded by our Westminster 
judges; an exordium of about sixteen lines absolutely 
cut off, and its other limbs quartered in a most 
barbarous manner. I will send it you in my next as 
my true and lawful heir, in exclusion of the pretender 
who has the impudence to appear under my name. 

As yet I have not looked into sir Isaac. Public 
disputations I hate ; mathematics I reverence ; history, 
morality, and natural philosophy have the greatest 
charms in my eye ; but who can forget poetry? thej^ 
call it idleness, but it is surely the most enchanting- 
thing in the world, "ac dulce otium et pfene omni 
negotio pulchrius." 

I am, dear sir, yours while I am 
E. W. 

Christ Church, May 24, 1736. 

happiness, or unwiUing to make her appearance in any such 
honourable Company, and fearful to open her Mouth in so 
polite an Assembly. Though in truth, her feet have been of late 
so cramped up in Logical fetters, that she knows not how to 
form her Steps to Poetick Measure." 



72 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

In a letter from Ashton to West of March 4th, 1736i, 
from King's he excuses himself, in answer I think to a 
polite remonstrance of AVest's, for not having written 
before. " A violent fit of adverse valetude " he says " has 
for some time chaind my thoughts." He then discourses 
in somewhat dreary fashion in reply to some remarks of 
West's on Letter Writing and concludes "I intended to 
have filled a sheet & Walpole's Italian coming in makes 
me finish before I come to the bottom of a page." This 
Italian is I suppose Piazza, who also taught Gray and 
perhaps Ashton too. See Gray's letter to Mr Birkett of 
Peterhouse which made that gentleman so angry (letter 
III. ed. Gosse vol. ii. and Mr Gosse's note there. Also 
Mr Gosse's Life of Gray p. 18). 

The following letters from Ashton throw so much light 
upon elections to King's in those days, that I am tempted 
to give them at some length. It will be seen by West's 
letter of Aug. 1736, p. 82, that the eflbrts for Prinsep, 
alias 'Quid', were unavailing. 

I am indebted to the Provost of Eton for the substance 
of the following explanation of Ashton's scheme. Prinsep 
was fourth on the Register for King's. Ashton hoped that 
Prinsep might get King's by the opportune occurrence of 
at least /owr vacancies. One was to be made by Thomas 
Lane reported (wrongly) to be dead — a second by William 
Willymott, who was to resign under Dr Berriman's in- 
fluence, whatever that was — a third by John Ewer "by 
means of the Duke of Rutland" (Ewer had been Lord 
Granby's travelling Tutor, Alumni Etonenses p. 314) — and 

1 1735 in Mitford's transcript; perhaps to be understood 
as 1735-6. Walpole tells us that he went up to King's, 
March 11th, 1735, and before the date of this letter he has 
apparently already been in residence, and studying Italian at 
Cambridge. 



OF R. WEST. 73 

the fourth by Mr Sleech under the influence of the Bishop 
of Exeter. This was Stephen Weston, Sleech's uncle by 
marriage, who was Bishop of Exeter 1724 — 1743. This 
Sleech is not the future Provost of Eton but his younger 
brother John. 

This scheme of Ashton's did not 'come off', for 

(1) Thomas Lane did not die then, but vacated his 
Fellowship by marriage in the next year. In 1748 he 
was 'practising Physic' at Sevenoaks {Alumni p. 316). 

(2) Only two vacancies occurred and these not till Aug. 2, 
1 736. William Willymott's vacancy was taken by Sparkes, 
Edward Green's by Hall. WagstafF and Prinsep never 
went to King's. 

Ewer became Rector of Bottesford in 1735. He en- 
joyed a year of grace. This explains Ashton's statement 
that he "is obliged to resign within the year". Willymott 
was presented to the Rectory of Milton, Cambridgeshire, 
in 1735. It is possible that Berriman was to use his in- 
fluence with Willymott not to avail himself of his year of 
grace, or at least not to press his tenure to the uttermost. 



5. *ASHTON TO WEST. (No date.) 
(Extract.) 

Tho' I am not insensible to the beautys that 
occur in every part of yr Epistle, yet no place of it 
made so deep an impression on my mind as that 
which relates to Quid. Poor Quid! if his cheek 
had burnt every time I thought of him, he would 
wish I had chose another subject for my thoughts. I 
hope you think not I want any instigation to exert 



74 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

myself in behalf of so good a man. The recollection 
of what I have felt will represent his misfortunes to 
me in the justest light. Non ignaru' mali miseris 
succun-ere disco. Fortune has learnt me to pity the 
distressd, but has put it out of my Power to relieve 
them. What I can, I will. Prinsep should be happy, 
if I could say, What I will, I can. He is most 
powerfully recommended by two very prevailing 
advocates, Great merit & small fortune. 

I went immediately to Horatio & acquainted him 
with the Case. He seemd extremely willing to do 
anything he could; but as he has no acquaintance 
with any of the Gentlemen who are likely to hasten 
the succession from Eton, I really cannot see how he 
can be of any service to Quid. Whatever is or may 
be in my Power to oblige him, he may infallibly 
depend upon, as upon many accounts, so because he 
is approved by you, Avho are most dear to 

ASHTON. 

6. * ASHTON TO WEST. 
[Probable date June 1736.] 
I am in raptures, my dearest West, at the de- 
scription of Oxford. If it exceeds my idea, it must 
exceed every thing. 1 can imagine nothing less than 
Heaven top'd Towers, Hesperian groves, & Gates of 
Chrysolite, if it-sh'* answer my expectation it is the 
Place in the World the most improper for what it is 



OF R. WEST. 75 

designd, unfitt for any Study, but Architecture & 
Botany. Yet Philosophical insensibility clouds the 
eyes of y"^ elders, and Aristotle is permitted to fix his 
throne, in a City too noble for the Court of Alexander. 
Well ■ but do they not pay adoration to the steps of 
Newton? is not Lock' reverd among you? I am 
sure my dear, you must admire the human wits 
divine, who have so artfully unravelld the intricate 
Maze of thought, so curiously explaind the grand 
Simplicity of the works of Nature. But pray, have 
you laid out any Plan for Study, or do you rove at 
large in the field of literature ? I am at a loss here, 
my dear Zephyrille, I travell in an unknown region 
without a guide & if I err in my first step my ex- 
pedition mil only serve to carry me further from my 
way. But of this hereafter. I have just received a 
little intelligence which I will communicate to you 
instantly. It relates to Prinsep. We have heard 
that M"^ Lane a fellow of our Society is dead. If it 
is true, tho' it is not yet confirmd, Prinseps Suc- 
cession is by no means impossible. Bid him look 
about him. What he does should be done quickly, I 
take it for granted that if the Captain take advantage 
of M'^ Lane's death, the two next Seniors will make 
sufficient (?) interest for their own Election. Hall 
we hear is secure of M'' Green, and D'' Berriman will 
undoubtedly (prevail upon?) Willymot..., Prinsep 



76 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

then will stand first upon the roll. What I would 
propose then is to make personal interest with M"^ 
Ewer, or M"" Sleech (who are both oblig'd to resign 
within the year) or if he can more conveniently 
engage these by means of the Duke of Rutland & the 
Bishop of Exeter. He will say, this is proceeding 
upon supposition. 'Tis true, M"" Lane's death is not 
yet certain, but consider, it will be suff* for him to 
engage a conditional Promise, that if his seniors shall 
be all... before the Election bills are closd : either 
of the Gentlemen I mentiond (who will be both of 
them on the spot) would make (way?) for his 
succession. And in the meantime alarm Hall and 
Wagstaffe with the news of Lane's death, to set 
their friends at work, but be as silent as may 
be of his own design. What think you ? is the 
scheme impracticable ? I profess I don't think it is. 
Let him make sure, in case he comes to be senior, 
for it is here confidently believed he will be, and if 
he is but a moment so, it will be enough if Ewer 
and Sleech are upon the Place. Only upon the 
supposition of the certainty of this intelligence, lett 
us substitute 

in the room of M'' Lane 1 Sparkes 
W Greene [ Hall 
D-- Willymott J Wagstaffe 
M-- Ewer ) ^ . 
M- Sleech ^'''''''' 



OF R. WEST. 77 

I VOW I see no cause of Despair, but all the 
reason in the world to attempt some difficulty in the 
hopes of so great advantage. I am his & yrs sin- 
cerely ' 

T: AsHTON. 



7. *ASHTON TO WEST. 

My dear West, 

The reason of entertaining you with 
this intelligence is, that I am uncertain where to find 
out Prinsep, which I hope you will do, if he is in 
Terra Cognita, and because to one of yr humanity, I 
am confident nothing can be more agreable than any 
Proposal which may tend to the advancement of 
Learning and Sincerity, both which qualities, I think, 
are inherent in Prinsep. We had a public Com- 
mencement voted, but the decree is now reversd. 
Gray has left us a good while I have not yet wrote 
to him. I love you and long to see you. 

ASHTON 
June 24. 1736 King's Coll. 

^ In the suggestions of doubtful words above, I have not 
been guided so much by the ductus literanim of Mitford's 
extremely minute transcript, which I had not before me, when 
the explanation of this letter came to hand; but rather by 
the probable sense. 



78 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

8. WEST TO ASHTON. 

...Arethusa mihi concede laborem 
Pauca meo Gallo — 

You may see, by what I wrote to Gray that I 
intend you a visit the latter end of next month. I 
long to compare Colleges. I must absolutely take 
measure of King's College, Chapell. Have you any 
such walks as Maudlin? and then I want much to 
see D"" Bentley the 6 -n-dw Commentator : what is he 
about? I hear your D"" Middleton is about obliging 
us with Cicero's Life. 

Esse nihil dicis quidquid petis improbe Cinna 
Si nil Cinna petis, nil tibi Cinna negoi. 

Whenever Ciniaa asks a favor 
'tis nothing Sir he'll say; 
Cinna, you are too modest rather — 
Is't really nothing? — take it, pray. 

[This letter probably belongs to July, 1736.] 

9. ASHTON TO WEST. 

Thursday 12 Aug. 1736. 
My dear Zephyrille, 

When I reflect that this is the anniversary of 
my arrival at Cambridge, the 2"'^ Anniversary"; this 

1 Martial iii. 61. 

- Ashton was elected to King's in 1733. It would appear 
from the above that he did not go up to Cambridge until 1734. 
He was in fact admitted a Scholar of King's on the evening of 
Aug. 11, 1734, as the Provost of King's kindly informs me. 



OF R. WEST. 79 

agreeable thought suggests to me one of a very 

ditferent complexion; videlicet that it is now above 

two years since I saw you : but the Promise with 

which you conclude yr letter, gives me hope, that in 

much less time I shall see you again. 

Return, thou wandring Child, return to thy 

father's house, and accept the fatted Calf which I 

am determind to sacrifice to thy arrival. 

Come, my swain and bring with thee 

Jest & youthful joUity 

Quirks^ and cranks & wanton wiles 

Nods and becks and wreathed smiles 

Sport that wrinkled Care derides 

And Laughter holding both her^ sides. 

I sliowd Horatio yr letter ; he hopes for yr coming 

as well as I. We neither of us leave College till the 

beginning of September. Make haste, my dear, I am 

tired of old, musty Philosophy & learned Dust. 

You are the only author I would care to read. 

Prithee come and bring with you a new edition of 

yrself multo auctior & emendatior, Oxford printed 

anno Domini 25 & 26'. The vivacity of yr agre- 

able Page will be some relief to a Soul half extinguishd 

with the suffocating fume of Jargon and Nonsense. 

Yrs 

eternally 

ASHTON. 

1 'Quips' and 'his' ap. Milton. 

2 Sic, I believe, ap. Mitford. But perhaps it should be 
'35 & '36, years of West's residence at Oxford. 



80 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

My liearty Service to Prinsep. I think him much 
injurd. pray determine instantly & let us know 
yr resolutions. 

Walpole wrote to West from King's College, Cambridge, 
Aug. 17, 1736 : 'Gray is at Burnham, and what is sur- 
prising has not been to Eton....'Tis the head of our 
genealogical table, that is since sprouted out into the two 
branches of Oxford and Cambridge. You seem to be the 
eldest son, by having got a whole inheritance to yourself ; 
while the manor of Granta is to be divided between your 
three younger brothers, Thomas of Lancashire [Ashton] 
Thomas of London [Gray] and Horace i... I hope you are a 
mere elder brother, and live upon what your father left 
you... poetry ; l)ut we are supposed to betake ourselves to 
some trade, as logic, philosophy, or mathematics....! tell 

^ In a previous letter to West, dated Nov. 9, 1735, Walpole 
says 

"Tydeus rose and set at Eton; he is only known here 
to be a scholar of King's ; Orosmades and Almanzor are just 
the same; that is, I am almost the only person they are 
acquainted with, and consequently the only person acquainted 
with their excellencies. Plato improves every day ; so does my 
friendship with him. These three divide my whole time, 
though I believe you will guess there is no quadruple alliance ; 
that was a happiness which I only enjoyed while you was at 
Eton. A short account of the Eton people at Oxford would 
much oblige " (fee. 

It should be obvious enough that this is an account of ' the 
Eton people ' at Cambridge and therefore that West at Oxford 
is not Almanzor, as Cunningham thinks. Nor is Walpole 
Tydeus ; for Walpole never was a Scholar of King's, and it is 
utterly inconceivable that an Etonian writing from King's to a 
brother Etonian would use this term in any but its exactest 



OF R. WEST. 81 

you what I see ; that by living amongst mathematicians, 
I write of nothing else : my letters are all parallelograms, 
two sides equal to two sides ; and every paragraph an 
axiom, that tells you nothing but what evei'y mortal 
almost knows.' 

10. WEST TO WALPOLE. 

Aug. 1736. 
My dearest Walpole : 

Yesterday I received your lively — agreeable — 
gilt — epistolary — parallelogram, and to-day I am 
preparing to send you in return as exact a one as my 
little cofnpass can aftord you. And so far, sir, I am 
sure we and our letters bear some resemblance to 
parallel lines, that, like them, one of our chief pro- 
perties is, seldom or never to meet. Indeed, lately 

sense. Plato is certainly not Henry Coventry as Mr Gosse 
conjectures ; witness the way in which in a letter to George 
Montagu, himself an Etonian, this Henry Coventry is spoken 
of (May 30, 1736) by Walpole : 

" There is lately come out a new piece called A Dialogue 
between Philemon and Hydaspes on false Religion, by one Mr 
Coventry, A.M. and fellow, formerly fellow commoner, of 
Magdalen. He is a young man, but 'tis really a pretty thing." 

Plato I am nearly certain is Ashton. In evidence of this, I 
would refer to sect. ii. let. 23, infra, written by West at a time 
when Ashton was in his company. Orosmades is certainly 
Gray ; though I know no other proof of this, tban the letter 
of West (sect. ii. let. 27, infra) to Walpole, when Gray and 
Walpole were travelling together abroad. Who Tydeus and 
Almanzor were does not much concern us ; they were not, it 
is clear, members of the Quadruple Alliance. 

G. 6 



82 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

my good fortune made some incUnation from your 
university to mine ; but whether I can reciprocate or 
no, I leave you to judge from hence — 

I sent Ashton word that I should more than 
probably make an expedition to Cambridge this 
August; but Prinsep, who was to have been my 
fellow-traveller, and would have gone with me to 
Cambridge, though not to King's, is unhappily dis- 
appointed ; and therefore my measures are broke, and 
I am very much in the spleen — else by this time 
I had flown to you with all the wings of impatience 

Ocyor cervis, et agente nimbos 
Ocyor Faivo^. 

But now, alas ! as Horace said on purpose for me to 
apply it, 

Sextilem totum mendax desideror — 

This melancholy reflection would certainly infect all 
the rest of my letter, if I were not revived by the 
sal volatile of your most entertaining letter. I am 
afraid the younger brother will make much the better 
gentleman, and so far verify the proverb; and indeed 
all my brothers' are so very forward, that like the 
first and heaviest element, I shall have nothing but 
mere dirt for my share : — and really such is the case 
of most of your landed elder brothers, while the 
younger run away with the more fine and delicate 

^ In playful allusion to his own name of Favonius. 
- Of the Quadruple Alliance. [Cunningham.] 



OF R. WEST. 83 

elements. As for my patrimony of poetry, my dearest 
Horace, ut semper en's derisor ! what little I have 
I borrowed from my friends, and like the poor am- 
bitious jay in the trite fable, I live merely on tlie 
charity of my abounding acquaintance. Many a 
feather in my stock was stolen from your treasures ; 
but at present 1 find all my poetical plumes moulting 
apace, and in a small time I shall be nothing further 
than, what nobody can be more, or more sincerely, 
Your humble servant, and obliged friend, 

E,. West. 

Gray at Burnham, and not see Eton? I am Ashton's 
ever, and intend him an answer soon — I beg pardon 
for what's over leaf ; but as I am moulting my poetry, 
it is very natural to send it you, from whom and my 
other friends it originally came. I translated', and 
now I have ventured to imitate the divine lyric poet. 

Ode— TO MARY MAGDALENE. 

Saint of this learned awful grove, 
While slow along thy walks I rove, 
The pleasing scene, which all that see 
Admire, is lost to me. 

1 This version is lost ; he sent another, of Hor. Carm. i. 5 
to Walpole July 12, 1737 (sect. ii. let. 15). — Bryant, in his in- 
teresting, but perplexing, letter of Reminiscences to an unknown 
correspondent (given in Mitford's 2nd Life of Gray), says that 
there survives of West's 'a curious parody upon the fourth ode 
of the fourth book of Horace.' Where? 

6—2 



84 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

The thought, which still my breast invades. 
Nigh yonder springs, nigh yonder shades 
Still as I pass, the memory brings 
Of sweeter shades and springs. 

Lost and inwrapt in thought profound, 
Absent I tread Etonian ground; 
Then startling from the dear mistake, 
As disenchanted, wake. 

What though from sorrow free, at best 
I'm thus but negatively blest: 
Yet still, I find, true joy I miss ; 
True joy's a social bliss. 

Oh! how I long again with those, 
Whom first my boyish heart had chose, 
Together through the friendly shade 
To stray, as once I stray'd! 

Their presence would the scene endear, 
Like paradise would all appear, 
More sweet around the flowers would blow. 
More soft the waters flow. 

Adieu ! 

In December, 1736, Gray writes to West : "You must 
know that I do not take degrees, and, after this term, shall 
have nothing more of college impertinences to undergo.... 
Surely it was of this place, now Cambridge, but formerly 
known by the name of Babylon, that the prophet spoke 
when he said 'The wild beasts of the desert shall dwell 
there...' You see here is a pretty collection of desolate 
animals, which is vei'ified in this town to a tittle, and 
perhaps it may also allude to your habitation... however I 
defy your owls to match mine." An undated letter of 
Ashton's to West has this : *' perhaps the fame of our 



OF R. WEST. 85 

young Kefiuers^ may not yet have reached your Ears, a 
congress of young Gentlemen, enemies to Prejudice and 
contracted notions, upon a thoro' examination of their 
Powers and Properties have found that our ancestors for 
6000 years past, have laboured under the Servile State 
of unnecessary dependence, which intolerable yoke these 
public spirits, for the honor of themselves and advantage 
of Posterity, have resolvd to shake off, and in consequence 
of this noble resolution, have declared themselves In- 
dependent. Now the Revd Doctors have called some 
Privy Councillors to examine it, peradventure they may 
be able to find a flaw in this Demonstration. Since a' 
corollary immediately deducible from this Proposition 
will strike at the root of Preferment & be destructive of 
the glorious expectation of a Lawn Sleeve & Crosier.' 
Mitford interprets these young Refiners or Reformers 
to be Gray, Walpole &c. AVhether Ashton's not very 
excellent fooling refers to any real circumstance, it is 
perhaps impossible to determine ; it is inserted here as 
descriptive of the attitude of these young people. He 
concludes 'I sh** be glad to hear from Prinsep' who was 
possibly then at Oxford with West. 

11. WEST TO GRAY. 

I congratulate you on your being about to leave 
college*, and rejoice much you carry no degrees with 
you. For I would not have You dignified, and I not, 

1 Or ' Reformers ' for Mitford is scarcely decipherable here. 

- I suspect that Mr West mistook his correspondent ; who 
in saying he did not take degrees, meant only to let his friend 
know that he should soon be released from lectures and 
disputations. [Mason.] 



86 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

for the Avorld, you would have insulted nie so. My 
eyes, such as they are, like yours, are neither meta- 
physical nor mathematical ; I have, nevertheless, a 
great respect for your connoisseurs that way, but am 
always contented to be their humble admirer. Your 
collection of desolate animals pleased me much ; but 
Oxford, I can assure you, has her owls that match 
yours, and the prophecy has certainly a squint that 
way. Well, you are leaving this dismal land of 
bondage, and which way are you turning your face ? 
Your friends, indeed, may be happy in you, but what 
will you do with your classic companions ? An inn of 
court is as horrid a place as a college, and a moot 
case is as dear to gentle dulness ' as a Syllogism. But 
wherever you go, let me beg you not to throw poetry 
"like a nauseous Aveed away;" cherish its sweets in 
your bosom ; they will serve you now and then to 
correct the disgusting sober follies of the common 
law, misce stultitiam consiliis brevem, dulce est 
desipere in loco ; so said Horace to Virgil, those sous 
of Anac in poetry, and so say I to you, in this 
degenerate land of pigmies, 

Mix with your grave designs a little pleasure, 
Each day of business has its hour of leisure. 

In one of these hours 1 hope, dear sir, you will 

^ Pope's expression, already become a commonplace, 
['And gentle Dulness ever loves a joke.' 

Dunciad, Bk ii. 1. 34, anno 1728.] 



OF R. WEST. 87 

sometimes think of me, write to me, and knuw me 
yours, 

that is, write freely to me and openl}', as I do to you, 
and to give you a proof of it I have sent you an 
elegy of Tibullus translated. Tibullus, you must 
know, is my favourite elegiac poet ; for his language 
is more elegant and his thoughts more natural than 
Ovid's. Ovid excels him only in wit, of which no 
poet had more in my opinion. The reason I choose 
so melancholy a kind of poesie, is because my low 
spirits and constant ill health (things in me not 
imaginary, as you surmise, but too real, alas ! and, I 
fear, constitutional) "have tuned my heart to elegies 
of woe;'' and this likewise is the reason why I am 
the most irregular thing alive at college, for you may 
depend upon it I value my health above what they 
call discipline. As for this poor unlicked thing of an 
elegy', pray criticise it unmercifully, for I send it 
mth that intent. Indeed your late translation of 
Statins might have deterred me ; but I know you are 
not more able to excel others, than you are apt to 

1 This elegy, the sapient Mason tells us, he omits ' because ' 
(among other reasons) *it is not wi'itten in alternate but 
heroic rhyme: which I think is not the species of English 
measure adapted to elegiac poetry.' We may have suffered 
little loss; but the same principle would have justified the 
suppression of Pope's 'Eloisa to Abelard'. 



88 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

forgive the want of excellence, especially when it is 
fonnd in the productions of 

Your most sincere friend. 
Christ Church, Dec. 22. 1736. 

12. WEST TO WALPOLE. 

Christchurch Jan. 12. 1736-7. 

Dear Sir: 

Poetry, I take it, is as universally con- 
tagious as the small-pox ; every one catches it once 
in tlieir life at least, and the sooner the better ; for 
methinks an old rhymester makes as ridiculous a 
figure as Socrates dancing at fourscore. But I can 
never agree with you that most of us succeed alike ; 
at least I'm sure few do like you : I mean not to 
flatter, for I despise it heartily ; and I think I know 
you to be so much above flattery, as the use of it is 
beneath every honest, every sincere man. Flattery 
to men of power is analogous with hypocrisy to God, 
and both are alike mean and contemptible ; nor is 
the one more an instance of respect, than the other 
is a proof of devotion. I perceive I am growing 
serious, and that is the first step to dulness : but I 
believe you won't think that in the least ex- 
traordinary, to find me dull in a letter, since you 
have knowui me so often dull out of a letter. 

As for poetry, I own, my sentiments of it are 
very different from the vulgar taste. There is hardly 



OF R. WEST. 89 

anywhere to be found (says Shaftesbury) a more 
insipid I'ace of mortals, than those whom the moderns 
are accustomed to call poets — but methinks the true 
legitimate poet is as rare to be found as Tully's 
orator, orator qualis adliuc nemo fortasse fuerit. 
Truly, I am extremely to blame to talk to you at 
this rate of what you know much better than myself: 
but your letter gave me the hint, and I hope you will 
excuse my impertinence in pursuing it. It is a 
difficult matter to account why, but certain it is that 
all people, from the duke's coronet to the thresher's 
flail' are desirous to be poets : Penelope herself had 

1 A hint at Stephen Duck the Thresher-poet, then an 
object of Queen Caroline's bounty, and of Pope's satire. 
[Cunningham.] Later in this year, after the death of Caroline, 
West writes of him 

' Mean time thy rural ditty was not mute. 
Sweet bard of Merlin's cave.' 
Merlin's Cave was a fancy or folly of Queen Caroline's at 
Eichmond; in it she had a library, of which Duck was 
custodian. 

How shall we fill a library with wit 
When Merlin's Cave is half unfuruish'd yet? 
says Pope in his 'Epistle to Augustus.' He was angry, as 
Mr Pattison explains, because his own writings had no place 
in the royal collection — 

'Call Tibbald Shakesi^ear, and he'll swear the nine 
Dear Cibber! never match'd one ode of thine. 
Lord ! how we strut thro' Merlin's Cave, to see 
No poets there, but Stephen, you and me.' 

(Sat. and Ep. vi. 140.) 



90 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

not more suitors, though every man is not Ulysses 
enough to bend the bow. The poetical world, like 
the terraqueous, has its several degrees of heat from 
the line to the pole — only differing in this, that 
whereas the temperate Zone is most esteemed in the 
terraqueous, in the poetical it is the most despised. 
Parnassus is divisible in the same manner as the 
mountain Chimaera 

— mediis in paitibus hircum, 
Pectus et ora leae, caudam serpentis habebat. 

The medium between the rampant lion and the 
creeping serpent is the filthy goat — the justest 
picture of a meddling poet, who is generally very 

Stephen boie his honours meekly, if we may trust the 
testimony of ' unfastidious Vinny Bourne ' — 

'Nee mutantur adhuc mores; sed et ille modestus 
Ille verecundus, qui prius, usque manes.' 
[V. Bourne, Ad Stephan. Duck, 'FiyKUfiiaaTiKov. 1743.] 
"The destruction of Merlin's Cave is commemorated by 
Mason, Heroic Epistle 1. 55 — 

'...for see untutor'd Brown 
Destroys those wonders which were once thy own. 
Lo, from his melon-ground the peasant slave 
Has rudely rush'd and level'd Merlin's Cave, 
Knock'd down the waxen wizard, seiz'd his wand, 
Transform'd to lawn what late was fairy-land. 
And mar'd with impious hand each sweet design 
Of Stephen Duck and good Queen Caroline.'" 

[Pattison.] 
Duck was gardener as well as librarian. 'Te Curatorem 
Regius Hortus habet' says Vincent Bourne 1. c. 



OF R. WEST. 91 

bawdy and lascivious, aiici like the goat, is mighty 
ambitious of climbing up mountains, where he does 
nothing but browse upon weeds. Such creatures as 
these are beneath our notice. But whenever some 
wondrous sublime genius arises, such as Homer or 
Milton, then it is that different ages and countries all 
join in an universal admiration. Poetry (I think I 
have read somewhere or other) is an imitation of 
Nature : the poet considers all her works in a 
superior light to other mortals ; he discerns every 
secret trait of the great mother, and paints it in its 
due beauty and proportion. The moral and the 
physical world all open fairer to his enthusiastic 
imagination : like some clear-flowing stream, he 
reflects the beauteous prospect all around, and like 
the prism-glass, he separates and disposes nature's 
colours in their justest and most delightful appear- 
ances. This sure is not the talent of every dauber : 
art, genius, learning, taste, must all conspire to 
answer the full idea I have of a poet ; a character 
which seldom agrees with any of our modern mis- 
cellany-mongers — But 

Quid lotjuor? aut ubi sum? quae mentem insania mutat? 

I have got into enchanted ground, and can hardly 
get out again time enough to finish my letter in a 
decent and laudable manner Dear sir, excuse and 
pardon all this rambling criticism — I writ it out of 



92 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

pure idleness ; and I can assure you, I wish you idle 
enough to read it through. 

I am, my dear Walpole, 
Yours most sincerely, 
R. West. 
1 wish you a happy new year. 

13. WEST TO WALPOLE. 

ChristChnrch February 27, 1736-7. 
My dear Walpole : 

It seems so long to me since I heard from 
Cambridge, that I have been reflecting with myself 
what 1 could have done to lose any of my friends 
there. The uncertainty of my silly health might 
have made me the duller companion, as you know 
very well ; for which reason Fate took care to re- 
move me oiit of your way : but my letters, I am sure, 
at least carry enough sincerity in them to recommend 
me to any one that has a curiosity to know some- 
thing concerning me and my amusements. As for 
Asliton, he has thought fit to forget me entirely ; and 
for Gray, if you correspond with him as little as I do 
(wherever he be, for I know not) your correspondence 
is not very great. — Full in the midst of these re- 
flections came your agreeable letter. I read it, and 
wished myself among you. You can promise me no 
diversion, but the novelty of the place, you say, and 
a renewal of intimacies. Novelty, you must know, I 



OF R. WEST. 93 

am sick of ; I am surrounded with it, 1 see nothing 
else. I could tell you strange things, my dear 
Walpole, of anthropophagi, and men whose heads do 
grow beneath their shoulders. I have seen Learning 
drest in old frippery, such as was in fashion in Duns 
Scotus' days : I have seen Taste in changeable, feeding 
like the chameleon on air : I have seen Stupidity in 
the habit of Sense, like a footman in the master's 
clothes : I have seen the phantom mentioned in The 
Dunciad', with a brain of feathers and a heart of 
lead : it walks here, and is called Wit. Your other 
inducement you suggested had all its influence with 
me : and I had before indulged the thought of 
visiting you all at Cambridge this next spring — But 
Fata ohstant — I am unwillingly obliged to follow 
much less agTeeable engagements. In the mean 
time I shall pester you with quires of correspondence, 
such as it is : but remember, you were two letters in 
my debt^ — though indeed your last letter may fully 
cancel the obligation. You may recollect my last 
was a sort of criticism upon poetry ; and this will 
present you with a sort of poetry' which nobody ever 
dreamt of but myself 

I am, dear sir, 

Yours very sincerely, 

R. West. 

1 Book ii. 1. 42. 

- This poetry does not appear. [Berry.] 



94 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

On the 5th of April 1737 Ashton sends to West 
from King's a critique or panegyj-ic of Glover's Leonidas 
which has a Postscript — * " M' Walpole is gone as far as 
Hockrelli with Dodd & Whalley'-^ (sic) who are coming 

^ Chesterfield writes to liis godson ' you put me in mind of 
that great man mentioned by Homer, and afterwards by 
Horace, qui vwreii multorum homintim (nic) ridit et urbes, for 
you have not only seen Cambridge, but also Clare Hall and 
Hockrel.' (let. clviii.) 'The Fly for Four Passengers at 12.s-. 
each goes to London every day by Chesterford, Hockerill and 
Epping.' [Cantahrigia Depicta 1763 p. 112.) It was a suburb 
of Bishop's Stortford. [Ld. Carnarvon.] 

- ' My iniblic tutor [at Cambridge] was Mr John Smith ; my 
private Mr Anstey ; afterwards Mr John Whaley was my tutor.' 
[Short Notes of my Life. Walpole, Letters, i. p. Ixii. ed. 
Cunningham.] 

' Mr Dodd was my fellow-collegian and school-fellow at 
Eton, a man universally beloved, lively, generous and sensible. 
I think his father kept an inn at Chester; but a Judge Dodd, 
of that county, related to him, left him his large fortune. He 
had a wretched tutor at College, John Whaley, who would have 
ruined most other people; but Mr Dodd's natural good sense 
got the better of his vile example. Mr Walpole and Mr Dodd, 
while at College were united in the strictest friendship.' Cole, 
Atheiue Cantahrigienses. Jis. [Walpole's Letters, Cunningham 
vol. IX. A-pp. p. 522.] Dodd is perhaps 'Tydeus', p. 80 n. 

Cole's antipathy to Whaley is manifested in another ms. 
He has transcribed a Tour through England in 1735 by Whaley, 
who records that he dined at Shrewsbury ' with much pleasure, 
at finding a large collection of honest Whigs met together in 
Shropshire. ' On which Cole notes ' Whatever this honest 
collection of Salopian Whigs may have been on the whole, I 
am as well satisfied as of any thing I know, that there was one 
rascal, duly and tntlij in the company.' [vid. Murray's 
Johnsoniana 183G p. 417.] 



OF R. WEST. 95 

to Town, he has Leonidas with him & will be home to- 
night. I paid y'' compliments to Dodd & Whaley Gray 
longs to hear from you." 

14. WEST TO GRAY. 

I have been very ill, and am still hardly re- 
covered. Do you remember Elegy 5th, Bocjk tlie 3rd, 
of Tibiillns, Vos tenet &c. and do you remember a 
letter of M" Pope's, in sickness, to M'' Steele ? This 
melancholy elegy and this melancholy letter I turned 
into a more melancholy epistle of my own, during 
my sickness, in the way of imitation ; and this I send 
to yoii and my friends at Cambridge, not to divert 
them, for it cannot, but merely to show tliem how 
sincere I was when sick : I hope my sending it to 
them now may convince them I am no less sincere, 
though perhaps more simple, when well. 

AD AMICOS. 

While yoii, where Camus rolls his sedgy tide, 
Feel every joy, that friendship can divide; 
Now, as each art and science you explore. 
And with the ancient blend the modern lore. 
Studious to learn alone whate'er may tend 
To raise the Genius — or the heart to mend: 
Now pleased along the cloister'd walk to rove. 
And trace the verdant mazes of the Grove, 
Where social oft, & oft alone you use 
To catch the Zephyr, or to court the Muse. 
At me meantime (while e'en devoid of art 
These lines give back the image of my heart) 



96 CORRESPONDENCE ETC, 

At me the power, that comes or soon or late, 
Or aims, or seems to aim the dart of fate. 
From you remote — methinks alone I stand 
Like some sad exil in a dreary land; 
Around no lenient friend, no friend to join 
In mutual warmth, or mix his heart with mine. 
Or real pains, or those which spleen can raise 
For ever blot the Sunshine of my days. — 
To sickness still, & still to "grief a prey, 
From me Health turns her rosy face away. 

Just Heaven! what sin, eie life begins to bloom. 
Devotes my head untimely to the tomb? 
Did e'er this hand against a brother's life 
Drug the dire bowl, or i^oint the murd'rous knife? 
Did e'er this tongue the Slanderer's tale proclaim. 
Or madly violate the Maker's name? 
Did e'er this heart betray a friend, or foe 
Or know a thought, but all the world might know? 
As yet just started from the lists of time 
My growing years have scarcely told their prime ; 
Useless as yet, through life I've idly run. 
No pleasures tasted, and few dirties done. 
Ah! who, ere autumn's mellowing Suns appear, 
Would pluck the promise of the vernal year? 
Or ere the grapes their purple hue betray. 
Tear the crude cluster from the mourning Spray? 
Stern power of Fate, whose Ebon Sceptre rules 
The Stygian desarts, & Cimmerian pools. 
Ah spare, nor rashly smite the youthful heart, 
A victim yet unworthy of thy dart! 
Then, when late age shall blast my withering face, 
Shake in my head, and falter in my pace ; 
Then aim the Shaft, then meditate the blow 
And to the dead my willing Shade shall go. 

How weak is Man to Reason's judgeing eye! 
Born in this moment, in the next we dye. 



OF R. WEST. 97 

Part mortal clay, and part ethereal fire, 
Too proud to creep, too humble to aspire ; 
In vain our Plans of happiness we raise : 
Pain is our lot, and patience is our praise 
Wealth, bii'th or honours, Conquest or a Throne 
Are, what the wise would fear to call their own, 
Health is at best a vain precarious thing. 
And fair-faced youth is ever on the wing. 
I'Tis like the stream, beside whose watry bed 
Some blooming plant exalts his flowry head; 
Nursed by the wave the spreading branches rise, 
Shade all the ground, & blossom to the skies, 
The waves the while beneath in secret flow. 
And undermine the hollow bank below ; 
Wide and more wide the waters urge their way. 
Bare all the root, and on the fibres prey. 
Too late the plant bewails his foolish pride 
And sinks untimely in the whelming tide. 

But why these thoughts, or what's my death to me? 
Few will lament perhaps whene'er it be. 
-For those the wretches I despise, or hate, 
I neither envy nor enquire their fate. 
For me, whene'er almighty Death shall spread 
His wings around my unrepineing head, 
■''I care not tho' this face be seen no more, 
The world will pass as chearful as before; 

^ "Youth, at the very best, is but the betrayer of human 
life in a gentler and smoother manner than age : 'tis like the 
stream that nourishes a plant upon a bank, and causes it to 
flourish and blossom to the sight, but at the same time is 
undermining it at the root in secret." Pope's Works, vol. vii. 
p. 254, 1st edition. Warburton. [Mason's note.] 

2 "I am not at all uneasy at the thought that many men 
whom I never had any esteem for, are likely to enjoy this 
world after me." Ibid. [Mason.] 

3 "The morning after my exit the sun will rise as bright as 
ever, the flowers smell as sweet, the plants spring as green." 
Ibid. [Mason.] 

G. 7 



98 CORRESPONDENCE ETC, 

Bright as before the Day-Star will appear 
The fields as verdant, and the skies as clear : 
Nor storms, nor comets will my doom declare, 
Nor signs on earth, nor portents in the air; 
Unknown and silent will depart my breath, 
Nor Nature e'er take notice of ray death. 
Yet some there are (ere sunk in endless night) 
Within whose breasts my monument I'd write: 
Loved in my life, lamented in my end, 
Their praise would crown me, as their precepts mend : 
To them may these fond lines my name indear, 
Not from the Author but the Friend sincere ^ 
Christ Church, July 4, 1737. 

15. *WEST TO WALPOLE. 

Tuesday July 12 1737 
My dearest Walpole, 

I have writ Asliton a long .serious 
letter, for which reason I intend to be very witty in 
this, I tell you so beforehand, for fear you should 
mistake me ; you must expect a Similie in every 
letter, and a Metaphor in every syllable. Nay, you'll 
find a je ne s^ay, in every Comma,, and something 
very surprizing in every full Stop.*' I don't intend 
to think neither, for I've heard your great Wits 
never think — 

J The text above, is taken from Gray's Common Place 
Books at Pembroke, i. 91, Gray's handwriting, subscribed 
Pav: 1737. 

* Marks like those above ( ] *) seem to indicate some 
playful eccentricities of writing here transcribed by Mitford. 



OF R. WEST. 99 

Critics indeed prescribe it as a rule 

That you must think before you write, 

But I who am you know, no fool 

Aver their judgment is not right 

Now if you ask the reason why 

I'll tell you truly by and bye 

Meantime if you should rashly think 

My Pen will drop a word of Sense 

Pray read no more, but with the rest dispense 

For faith, I send you nought but Ink, 

But if you deem the want of thought 

A tolerable fault, 

Prithee, proceed 

On that condition you may read. 

I think these lines very much a la Frangaise you 
can tell why? and now I'll give you some in the 
English fashion 

To thee my thoughts magnetically roll 
My heart the Needle is, and tliine the Pole 
Since thou art gone, no Company can please. 
They rather show my Want, than give me Ease. 
Wlien Sol resigns our Hemispheres to night 
Ten thousand Stars, but ill supply his light 
Tho' to repay thy loss, enough there be 
They're all a poor Equivalent of thee. 
Like Ovid thus I stand, whose lines declare 
No inspiration like our native air 
Banished from thee, I feel my notes decay 
And miss the Muse, to animate the lay. 

Now, what Muse do you like the best, French or 
English? in my opinion the first is in a Consumption, 
& the latter in a dropsy. The French one is a pale 

7—2 



100 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

Slammekin without any color in her Skin ; and 

the English drab' is a flush'd' Dowdy as full of 

pimples as she can stare. Had I time, I w** rifle 

all Petrarca, but I would send you some 

Sonnetti, madrigalletti 
Versi sciolti, vezzozetti- 
Per signor, mio Valpoletti. 

I would send you some Spanish too, not plain but 
mighty ampullated, were I suff^*' versd in the obras 
del Poetas Castellanos; and then I'd tell you that 
the Italian and Spanish Muse both usd a great deal 
of Paint, only the last laid on in higher colors. 

I dare say, after all, you'll tell me this is nothing 
to you, and yet so far it is, that I intended all this 
to divert you, & if it does not, at least the intention 
was good. If I knew as many languages as Briareus 
had hands, I should tell you a hundred Ways only, 
how much I am — 

I know I might end my letter here, very con- 
veniently, and end very prettily, but I wont ; I'll 
wi'ite as far as my Paper will let me, & then as 
Alexander wept heretofore, that he had no more to 
conquer, or as the wild Indian that gallopd with full 
speed, till he came to the sea, & then wonderd that 
he could gallop no further, so I — . h propos, an ode 
of Horace lies before me, which I translated about 3 
months ago — here it is 

^ 'dab' and 'flusd' in Mitford's us. ^ sic. 



OF R. WEST. 101 

Ad Pyrrham. 
Say what dear Youth his amorous rapture breathes 
Within thy arms beneath some Grott reclind? 
Pyrrha, for whom dost thou in wreathes 
Thy golden tresses bind 
In plainness elegant? how oft shall he 
Complain alass! upon the fickle skies 
And suddenly astonishd see 
The blackning tempest rise : 
Who now enjo.ys thee, happy in Conceit 
Who fondly thinks thy love can never fail 
Never to him — unmindful yet 
Of the fallacious Gale. 
Wretch! to whom thou uutryd seemest fair, 
For me, I've scapd the Wreck; let yonder fane 
Inscrib'd my gratitude declare 
To him that rules the Main. 

I am, dear Sir, with all sincerity, your most 
liumble Servant & affectionate friend 

Rich. West 

P.S. I am afraid I cannot see you this Summer, 
but I long to hear from you 
To 
Horace Walpole Esq'' 
at King's College 
Cambridge 
(from Oxford) 

To the letter enclosing 'Ad Amicos' {supra) Gray re- 
plied Aug. 22, 1737 'If what you sent me last be the pro- 
«luct of your melancholy, what may I not expect from your 

more cheerful hours? But while I write to you I hear 

the sad news of Lady Walpole's death on Saturday night 



102 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

last.' A lettei' from Aslitou to West, undated but placed 
by Mitford among those of 1737, has * 'M' Walpole is now 
with us & his Sense will soon get the better of his mis- 
fortune.' Ashton continues ' D' Barnard's determination 
of me for Eton is an honor I have no inclination to accept. 
My friend Horace has disposd of me in a way more to my 
Satisfaction. I am engagd to Ld Plymouth. When I 
leave Cambridge I am not certain.' 

By comparison with the letter which follows it, and 
in the absence of other evidence I am disposed (but very 
doubtfully) to assign to the year 1 737 this letter of Ashton's 
to West. 

16. * ASHTON TO WEST. 
King's Coll : Camb : Nov 16 (?) 

Dear West, 

If you judge my esteem for you by the number 
of my letters, you err in yr judgment. 'Tis true I am 
very dilatory in my remittances ; at which you will 
less wonder, when I acquaint you with the Cause. 
You must know then that for the three months past 
I have constantly laboured under the intolerable 
fatigue of having nothing to do, & it is my mis- 
fortune (excuse my infirmity) always to be most bus)' 
when I have least business. This to you will seem 
a Paradox : but my Case is much the same as Charles 
Lyttleton's, who staid 2 years at Oxford, without 
seeing the Musaeum, because he might have seen it 
every day. When I liad so much time upon my 
hands, I could not see one hour more convenient for 



OF R. WEST. 103 

writing than another, and tlierefore I did not write 
at all. Now I ain engaged in a constant & necessary 
round of eating, reading & praying, I find that if I 
do not write to you this Minute, I cannot write to 
you the next. So my multiplicity of business sup- 
plies me with an opportunity, of which my want of 
any has long deprivd me. 

I could wish to have had Gray's fortune ; but I 
often see you by him at second hand. I find by his 
Picture of you that there is a different sameness in 
you, an improved resemblance of what you was. but 
this Pleasure I receive from the copy, only makes me 
desirous to see the originall — 
I am 

Dear West 

Y"^ most sincerelj' 

ASHTON. 

17. WEST TO GRAY. 

Receiving no answer to my last letter, which 
I writ above a month ago, I must own I am a little 
uneasy. The slight shadow of you which I had in 
to^vn, has only served to endear you to me the more. 
The moments I passed with you made a strong im- 
pression upon me. I singled you out for a friend, 
and I would have you know me to be yours, if you 
deem me worthy. Alas, Gray, you cannot imagine 
how miserably my time passes away. My health and 



104 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

nerves and spirits are, thank ni)^ stars, the very worst, 
I think, in Oxford. Four-and-tvventy hours of pure 
unalloyed health together, are as unknown to me as 
the 400,000 characters in the (Jhinese vocabulary. 
One of my complaints has of late been so over-civil 
as to visit me regularly once a month — ^jam certus 
conviva. This is a painful nervous headache, which 
perhaps you have sometimes heard me speak of 
before. Give me leave to say, I find no physic com- 
parable to your letters. If, as it is said in Eccle- 
siasticus "Friendship be the physic of the mind," 
prescribe to me, dear Gray, as often and as much as 
you think proper, I shall be a most obedient patient. 

Non ego 
Fidis irascar medicis, offendar amicis, 

I venture here to \vi-ite you down a Greek epigram, 
which 1 lately turned into Latin, and hope you will 
excuse it. 

[nOSEIAIlIlIGT.] 

Tbf TpLeTT] TraL^ovTa irtpl (ppiap ' AarvdvaKTa 

Ei'5coXoj' /jLop<pas Kujcpov eweawaaaTO. 
'E/c 5' vdaTOS top iratda 5i.d^poxov ijpwaae fxarrip, 

'^K^TVTop.eva j'cijas et riva fxoipav ^x^'- 
^vfjLcpas 5' oi'/c iiXLTivev 6 vrjTnos, d\\' (wi yovviov 

Marpos Koi/xT]dels rbv ^aOiiv vwvov ^X"- 

Peispicui pueium ludentem in margine rivi 
Immersit vitreae limpidus error aquae: 

At gelido ut mater moribundum e flumine traxit 
Credula, & amplexu funus inane fovet; 

PauUatim puer in dilecto pectore, somno 
Langitidus, aeternum lumina composuit. 



OF R, WEST, 105 

Adieu ! I am going to my tutor's lectures on one 
Puffendorft', a very jurisprudent author as you shall 
read on a summer's day. 

Believe me, yours &c. 

Christ Church Dec. 2, 1737.1 

In the interval between the preceding letter and the 
Latin reply of Gray, Ashton writes from King's to West 
Dec. 6th, 1737 (Founder's Day at King's and Eton): 
*"Only think that I am just risen from a fat Founder's 
feast and then guess what kind of a letter you are to 
receive from me... With respect to the little insults that 
liave been levelled at you, I would not have you perceive 
them." Then follows sage advice, throwing however but 
little light on the nature of the insults in question, of 
which West nowhere makes mention in his extant cor- 
respondence. 

18. GRAY TO WEST. 

Literas, mi Favoni! abs te demum, nudiustertius 
credo, accepi plane mellitas, nisi forte qua de segri- 
tudine quadam tua dictum : atque hoc sane mihi 
habitum est non paulo acerbius, ({uod te capitis 
morbo implicitum esse intellexi ; oh morbum mihi 
quam odiosum ! qui de industria id agit, ut ego in 

1 The date in Mason and Mitford is Dec. 2, 1738. As how- 
ever the letter of West's on p. 108 is expressly dated Feb. 21 
1737-8 it is plain that tlie year of this letter is 1737. It is 
possible also that the day of the month is wrongly given. 
The letter was not received by Gray till .Ian. 20th. Gray's 
'demum^ shows that there was some delay, but an interval of 49 
days is difficult to account for. 



106 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

singulos menses, Dii boui, cjuautis jucunditatibus 

orbarer ! quam ex auimo milii dolendum est, quod 

Medio de fonte leporum 
Surgit amaii aliquid ! 

Salutem, meliercule, nolo tarn parvipendas, atque 
amicis tarn improbe consulas : quanquam tute for- 
tassis aestuas angusto limite mundi, viamque (ut 
dicitur) affectas Olympo, nos tamen non esse tarn 
sublimes, utpote qui hisce in sordibus et fsece diutius 
paululum versari volumus, reminiscendum est : illse 
tuffi Muste, si te anient modo, derelinqui paulisper 
non nimis pegTe patientur: indulge, amabo te, plus 
quam soles corporis exercitationibus : magis te campus 
liabeat, aprico magis te dedas otio, ut ne id ingenium 
quod tam cultum curas, diligenter nimis dum foves. 
officiosarum matrum ritu, interimas. Vide, quaiso, 
quam tarpiKws tecum agimus, 

^apfiax a, K€v TraJtrT/ffi fxeXaivduv odvvauiv. 

Si de his pharmacis non satis liquet, sunt fes- 
tivitates merai, sunt facetiae et risus ; quos ego 
equidem si adhibere nequeo, tamen ad praecipiendum 
(ut medicorum fere mos est) certe satis sim : 
id ({uod poetic^ sub fineni epistola? hisisti, milii 
gTatissimum quidem accidit ; admodum Latine coc- 
tum et conditum tetrastichon, Gra^cam tamen illam 
d(jii\€Lav mirifice sapit : tu quod restat, vide, sodes, 
hujusce liominis ignorantiam ; cum, unde hoc tibi sit 



OF R. WEST. 107 

depromptum, (iit fatear) j)rorsus iiescio : sane ego 
equidem nihil in capsis reperio quo tibi minimae 
partis solutio fiat. Vale, et me ut soles, ama. 
A. D 11 Kalend. Februar. [1738] 

19. WEST TO GRAY.i 

I ought to answer you in Latin, but I feel I dare 
not enter the lists with you — -cupidum, pater optime, 
vires Deficiunt. Seriously, yon write in that lan- 
guage with a grace and an Augustan urbanity, that 
amazes me : your Greek too is perfect in its kind. 
And here let me wonder that a man, longe Grsecorum 
doctissimus, should be at a loss for the verse and 
chapter whence my epigram is taken. I am sorry I 
have not my Aldus with me, that I might satisfy 
your curiosity; but he, with all my other literary 
folks, are left at Oxford, and therefore you must still 
rest in suspense. I thank you again and again for 
your medical prescription. I know very well that 
those "risus, festivitates, et facetiie" would contribute 
greatly to my cure, but then you must be my apo- 
thecary as well as physician, and make up the dose 
as well as direct it ; send me, therefore, an electuary 
of these drugs, made up secundum artem, 'et eris 

1 This was written in French, but as I doubted whether it 
would stand the test of polite criticism, so well as the pre- 
ceding would of learned, I chose to translate so much of it as 
I thought necessary in order to presei-ve the chain of corre- 
spondence. (Mason.) 



108 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

mihi magnus Apollo' in both his capacities, as a god 
of poets and god of physicians. Wish me joy of 
leaving my college, and leave yours as fast as you 
can. I shall be settled at the Temple very soon. 
Dartmouth-Street. Feb. 21. 1737-8. 

Mitford says, " In Walpole's Works vol. i. p. 204, is a 
well known epigram which was written by West, 'Time 
and Thomas Hearne,' which was printed by Mr Walpole 
in a paper intended for the 'World' but not sent, and 
which is commonly attributed to Swift." But this is not 
exact, On turning out the reference I tind it is only the 
Answer hy Mr Fohjglot that is attributed to West. The 
authorship of the original epigram is not there discussed 
it is only called 'the known distich'. 

Pox on't, quoth Time to Thomas Hearue, 
Whatever I forget, You learn. 

Answer by Mr Polyglot. 
fDamn it, quoth Hearne, in furious fret, 
Whate'er I learn. You soon forget. 

t It was written at Christ-Church, Oxford, by Eichard 
West, esq. a young gentleman of great genius, who died at the 
age of twenty-six. He was son of Mr West, lord Chancellor of 
Ireland, by Elizabeth, daughter of bishop Burnet. [Note in 
Walpole's Works Lc] 

If this note is correct West wrote this 'Answer' before 
the date of the above letter, though at what time during 
his college residence I have no means of determining. I 
am inclined to attribute the following verses also to some 
time during West's stay at Christchurch. They are I 
think the basis of the Latin Verses attributed by me to 
Gray among the Latin poems infra, ' Gratia magna tuBe 
fraudi' &c. The 'Monody' was probably written in 
December 1737. Queen Caroline died on the 20th of Nov. 
in that year. 



OF R. WEST. 109 

From A Collection of English Songs by Dalrymple.' 

Thanks, Chloe, thy coquetting Art 

At length hath heal'd my love-sick heart, 

At length Thy Slave is free : 
I feel no Tyrant's proud control! 
I feel no Inmate in my Soul 

But Peace and Liberty. 

Put on thy Looks of cold disdain. 
Or speak respectful, 'tis in vain, 

Nor Frowns nor Smiles can move. 
Those Lips no more have words to bind, 
Those Eyes no more have light to find 

The Path that leads to Love. 

But still I hear You, smiling, say 

"Tis sign You've flung your chains away 

You take such pains to shew 'em" 
Why, Chloe, there's a fond delight 
Our former dangers to recite, 

And let our Neighbours know 'em. 

After the thunder of the Wars, 
The Vet'ran thus displays his Scars, 

And tells You of his Pains; 
The Galley- Slave, enslav'd no more, 
Shews You the Shackles which he wore. 

And where their mark remains. 
For me, I quit a fickle fair; 
Chloe, has lost a heart sincere; 

Who first should sing Te Deum? 
You'll never find so true a Swain: 
But Women full as false and vain. 

By dozens One may see 'em. 

Richard West. 

1 (Brit. Mus. --r-23). 



110 REMAINS 

From Dodsley's Collection Vol. 2, London 1758 p. 274 1. 

A MONODY ON THE DEATH OF QUEEN CAROLINE. 

By Richaed Wkst Esq. ; Son to the Chancellor of Ireland, 
AND Grandson to Bishop Burnet. 

I. 

Sing we no more of Hymeneal lays, 

Nor strew the land with myrtles and with bays: 

The voice of joy is fled the British Shore 

For Caroline's no more: 

And now our sorrows ask a sadder string ; 

Come, plaintive goddess of the Cyrrhan Spring, 

Pour thy deep note, and shed thy tuneful tear, 

And, while we lose the memory of pain 

In thy oblivious strain, 

— Ah! drop thy cypress on yon mournful bier! 

Begin: nor more delay 

The sacred meed of gratitude to pay: 

Begin: whate'er immortal song can do. 

To the dear name of Caroline is due: 

Who loves the Muse, deserves the Muse's love: 

Then raise thy numbers high, 

Sound out her glory to the throne of Jove, 

Spread the glad voice thro' all the ambient sky, 

From the dull marble vindicate her praise. 

And waft it down to lighten future days. 

II. 
Ye bards to come, the song of truth attend: 
This, this is she, the Muse's judge and friend ! 
The royal female ! whose benignant hand 
Throughout fair Albion's land 
Dealt every useful, every decent part. 
Each Memphian science, and each Attick art: 

1 [Brit. Museum, 992 d 131.] 



OF R. WEST, 111 

Within the Muse's bower 

She oft was wont to lose the vacant hour, 

Or underneath the sapient grot reclin'd, 

Her soul to contemplation she resign'd, 

And for a while laid down 

The painful, envied burthen of a crown : 

Mean time thy rural ditty was not mute, 

Sweet bard of Merlin's cave!^ 

Tho' rude, thy ditty was of her, who gave 

Thy voice to sing, and tun'd thy oaten flute 

In strains unwonted to the ear of swain: 

As when the lark, ambitious of the skies, 

Quits the low harvest of the golden plain. 

Taught by the sun's inspiring warmth to rise. 

Sublime in air he spreads his dapjjled wings, 

Mounts the blue aether, and in mounting sings. 

III. 

But whither wander the licentious song? 

Such joyous notes to happier days belong! 

Ah me! our happier days are now no more: — 

Return, sad Muse : see pale Britannia weej^, 

See all the sisters of the subject deep 

Their sovereign's loss deplore! 

See fond lerue give her sorrow vent. 

And as she tunes her brazen lyre to woe, 

Indulge her grief to flow! — 

See even the northern Orcades lament! 

Nor ends the wailing here: 

Where-e'er beneath our flag wild Ocean roars, 

From furthest Orient to Hesperia's shores, 

From torrid Affrick to the world's cold end 

The British woes extend: 

And every colony has dropt a tear. 

^ Stephen Duck. See note p. 89. 



112 REMAINS 



IV. 



honour'd flood! with reeds Pierian crown'd 

Isis ! whose argent waters glide along 

Fair Bellosite's Lycaean shades renown'd, 

Now aid my feeble song; 

And call thy chosen sons; and bid them bring 

Their lays of Dorick air, 

With lenient sounds to steal awhile from care 

Th' inconsolable King: 

Oh ! sooth his anguish, and compose his pains 

With artful unimaginable strains, 

According sweetly to the golden lyre, 

Such as might half inspire 

The iron breast of Hades to resign 

Our lost, lov'd Caroline. 

These are thy glorious deeds, almighty Death ! 

These are thy triumphs o'er the sons of men. 

That now receive the miserable breath, 

Which the next moment they resign again! 

^Ah me! what boots us all our boasted power. 

Our golden treasure, and our purpled state? 

They cannot ward th' inevitable hour, 

Nor stay the fearful violence of Fate ;^ 

— Virtue herself shall fail: 

Else now, if virtue ever could prevail. 

Death had not dar'd to violate the throne, 

Nor had Britannia heard her sovereign groan. 

— Ye nymphs! recall the Song: 

For heaven-born virtue does to heaven belong, 

And scorns the meanest of her sons should die, 

But opens him a passage to the sky; 

^ Ah me... Fate. The suggestion of the stanza in the elegy. 
The boast of heraldry the pomp of pow'r &c. 



OF K. WEST. 113 

Her rod ay-pointing to th' eternal goal, 
From the brute earth she frees the ardent soul; 
Swift from the vulgar hei'd aloft she springs, 
Spurns the moist clay, and soars on azure wings. 



Then hence with sorrows vain: 

Ye Theban Muses ! elevate the strain : 

Search o'er the records of immortal fame. 

And high refulgent on the female line, 

Imblaze in starry characters the name 

Of British Caroline: 

While sacred story rings with Sheba's praise, 

While Berenice's virtues still inspire 

The Cyrenean lyre, 

And Gloriana blooms in Spenser's lays: 

Thy name, great Queen, shall glow in every page, 

Shall dwell in every clime, and live in every age. 

When George shall go, where William went before, 

And all the present world shall be no more; 

When the fond factions of unjust mankind, 

The mean, the mad, the envious, and the blind 

Shall turn to worms and dust; 

Then Time, impartial judge, that states the price 

Of each man's virtue, and of each man's vice 

From thy bright fame shall clear the cank'ring rust ; 

And 0! the Muses ever shall be just. 

VI. 

But lo! what sudden radiance gilds the skies? 

'Tis Gratitude descending from above. 

Known by the sweetness of her dove-like eyes. 

Daughter of truth and universal love! 

To Henry's sacred dome she wafts along. 

And on thy tomb she pours 

Celestial sweets and amaranthine flowers : 

G. 8 



114 REMAINS 

The old, the young, the rich, the wretched crowd 
Numerous around her, and with accents loud 
Raise the mix'd voice, and pour the grateful song 
"Hail Queen! adorn'd by nature and by art! 
Thine was each virtue of the head and heart 
Thy people blest thee, and thy children lov'd 
And thy King honour'd, and thy God approv'd." 

VII. 

But here my labours cease: 
'Tis time the foaming courser to release. 
And thou, O royal Shade 

Forgive the Muse that these vain honours j'aid 
A Muse as j'et unheeded and unknown; 
That dares to sacrifice to truth alone, 
Not prone to blame, not hasty to commend. 
No foe unjust, no mercenary friend, 
No sensual bosom, no ungenerous mind, 
And, tho' not virtuous, virtuously inclin'd.^ 
[1737] 

In June, 1738 Gray sent West another Latin letter 
commencing with tlie Sapphic ode 

'Barbaras ades aditure mecum 
Quas Eris semper fovet inquieta' 

from which it wonld appear that he at that time was him- 
self contemplating a career at the Bar. The ode proceeds 
to say how much pleasanter it were to spend the hours 
with books and the Muse under the shady elm, — and 
describes Gray's enjoyment of the spring and sunshine. 

' This follows, in Dodsley's collection, the Ode on a 
Distant Prospect of Eton College, the Ode on the Spring 'Lo 
where the rosy-bosoni'd hours,' and that on the Death of 
Wali^ole's Cat. 



OF R. WEST. 115 

Then follows prose, and then the Alcaic stanza '0 lacry- 
marum fons ' &c. To which West replies infra. 



•20. WEST TO GRAY. 

I return you a tliousand thanks for your elegant 
ode, and wisli you every joy you wish yourself m it — 
But, take my word for it, you will never spend so 
agreeable a day here as you describe : alas ! the sun 
with us rises only to show the way to Westminster- 
Hall.^ — Nor must I forget thanking you for your little 
Alcaic fragment. The optic Naiads are infinitely 
obliged to you. 

I was last week at Richmond Lodge, with Mr Wal- 
pole, for two days, and dined with Cardinal Fleury' ; 
as far as my short sight can go, the character of his 
great art and penetration is very just, he is indeed 
nulli penetrabilis astro. 

I go to-morrow to Epsom, where I shall be for about 
a month. Excuse me, I am in haste, but believe me 
always &c. 

August 29, 1738-. 

1 Sir Bobert Walpole. (Mason.) Fleury, the contemporary 
French minister, was, like Walpole, credited with a love of 
Peace. In 1733, Pope bad written 

' Peace is my dear delight — not Fleury's more : 
But touch me, and no minister so sore.' 
" I am again perplexed at the long interval between this 
letter and that to which it is the answer. 

8—2 



lib CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

21. *ASHTON TO WEST. 

Sep. 9. 1738 Hanover Sq. 
My dear West, 

Wliy must yoii vent all your dear Sjileen at a 
Coffee House to deprive me of a pleasure which it is 
not often in your Power to give, of seeing you out of 
humor? I shall go to the Temple to-morrow, & I 
am determind to visit yr door, tlio' I am afraid it 
will not open its Eyes upon me. I shall however 
enjoy the happiness (the loss of which old Adam 
most regretted at his expulsion from Paradise)' of 
saying to myself 

'In this room he appeard: behind this door 
Stood visible : among those books his voice 
I heard: here with him on this Staircase talk'd.' 

I thank you, my dear for your invitation to Epsom 
or Oxford, I am sorry I am not a fi'ee agent to comply 
with it. ...a small Piece of Paper light at this House 
to day with Grays name attachd to it, & declares 
he is very well, that Stourbridge fair is full blown & 
that he will go to bed at Cambridge but 14 nights 
more. 

You know that the alarm of Sir Robert's Danger 
had set many hearts a beating with hopes and fears, 
which are now equally dispersd — our friend Horace 

1 Par. Lost, xi. 320 sq. 



OF R. WEST. 117 

has received good advantages by Tuubridge Wells. 
He will be in Town next Tuesday. 

Yrs very sincerely 

ASHTON. 

Write soon — oro, obsecro, obtestor. 

In Sept. 1738 Gray writes to West : 

"I am at this instant in the very agonies of leaving 
college If you knew the dust, the old boxes, the bed- 
steads and tutors that are about my ears, you would look 
upon this letter as a great effort.... I fill up my paper with 
a loose sort of version of that scene in Pastor Fido that 
begins, Care selve beati." 

"This Latin version" says Mason " is extremely elegiac, 
but as it is only a version I do not insert it." Accordingly 
it has disappeared, as far as I know, ciltogether. To it 
West refers in the Elegia which follows infra. 



22. WEST TO GRAY. 

I tliank you again and again for your two' last 
most agreeable letters. They could not have come 
more ^-propos ; I was without any books to divert 
me, and they supplied the want of every thing ; I 
made them my classics in the country ; tliey were 
my Horace and Tibullus — Non ita loquor assentandi 
causa, ut probe nosti si me noris, verum quia sic mea 
est sententia. I am but just come to town, and, to 
show you my esteem of your favours, I venture to 
' Those of June and September, 1738. 



118 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

send you by the penny-post, to yonr father's, what 
you will find on the next page : I hope it will reach 
you soon after your arrival, your boxes out of the 
waggon, yourself out of the coach, and tutors out of 
your memory. 

Adieu, we shall see one another, I hope, to- 
morrow. 

ELEGIA. 
Quod mihi tarn gratae misisti dona Camenaj 

Qualia Maenalius Pan Deus ipse velit, 
Amplector te, Graie, & toto corde reposco, 
Oh desiderium jam nimis usque meum ! 
Et mihi rura placent, at me quoque sajpe volentem 

Duxenmt Dryades per sua prata De^; 
Sicubi lympha fugit Uquido pede, sive virentem. 

Magna, decus nemoris, quercus opacat humum : 
Illuc mane novo vagor, ilkic vespere sero, 

Et, noto ut jacui gramine, uota cano. 
Nee nostrae ignorant divinam AmaryUida silvs : 

Ah, si desit Amor, nil mihi rura phxcent. 
Ille jugis habitat Deus, ille in vallibus imis, 

Regnat et in Ctelis, regnat et Oceano ; 
Ille gregem taurosque domat, saevique leonem 

Seminis; ille feros, ultus Adonin, apros : 
Quin et fervet amore nemus, ramoque sub omui 

Concentu tremulo plurima gaudet avis. 
Durje etiam in silvis agitant connubia plantae. 

Dura etiam et fertur saxa animasse Veuus. 
Durior et saxis, et robore durior ille est, 

Sincero siquis pectore amare vetat : 
Non illi in manibus sanctum deponere pignus, 

Non illi arcanum cor aperire velim ; 
Nescit amicitias, teneros qui nescit amores : 
Ah! si nulla Venus, nil mihi rura placent. 



OF R. WEST. 119 

Me licet a patria longe in tellure juberent 

Externa positum ducere Fata dies; 
Si vultus modo amatus adesset, uon ego contra 

Plorarem magnos voce querente Deos. 
At dulci in gremio curarum oblivia ducens 

Nil cupeieni ijricter posse placere men; : 
Nee bona fortuuae aspiciens, neque niunera regum. 

Ilia intra optarem brachia cara mori. 
Sep. 17. 1738. 



* IMITATION OF HORACE. Lib: I: Ep: 2.' 

While haply You (or haply not at all) 

Hear the grave Pleadings in the Lawyers' Hall 

Or, while you haply Littleton explore, 

Turning the learned leaden Pages o'er, 

Think me again trausijorted to peruse 

The golden Rhapsodies of Milton's Muse: 

Who shews us iu his high Seraphic Song, 

What just, what unjust, what is Right, what Wrong, 

With Sense at least, and Evidence as true. 

As all our Judges of the Bench could do. 

Why thus I think (to Hardwick no Offence) 

Give Ear, and with your Coke awhile dispense. 

The Tale disastrous You remember well. 
How Satan tempted and how Adam fell; 
And how he tasted the forbidden Tree, 
Induced by female Curiosity; 
How thus our Paradise we lost, & ail 
The Children perish'd in the Fathers' Fall 
Nor be that other Tale forgotten here 
More moral, tho' less pleasing to the Ear 

1 From Pemb. Coniinon Place Books, vol. i. p. 273. 



120 REMAINS 

How in the Desart Wild with Hunger spent 
Full forty Days our patient Saviour went 
Then spurning back to Hell the wily Fiend 
Taught us on Heaven (Heaven only) to depend, 
Hence us redeem'd at our Messiah's cost: 
The Cross regaining, what the Apple lost. 
Thus while I read our Epic Bard divine, 
My Mind intent with Pleasure Use to joyn, 
From either Poem this Instruction draws, 
To trust in God, and to obey Grod's Laws. 

Enough of Sermon: I perceive you nodd. 
You think me mighty wise, & mighty odd : 
Your Lips, I see, half verge upon a Smile — 
Dear Sir, observe the Horace in my Style. 
Just such to LoUius, his misguided Friend, 
He knew with decent Liberty to send 
Beneath the Critique dext'rous to convey 
Advice conceal'd, in the best-natured Way. 
But you're no Lollius, and no Horace I : 
Here is no Room sage Maxims to apply. 
Would you not burst outright to hear me say 
Satan, my friend, may lead the best astray ; 
By Nature ill, by Habit worse inclined, 
Add Pride, add Envy, add the willful Mind 
Still prone to disobey & to deceive. 
All men are Adam, & all women Eve. 
Thus bad, thus all corrupted, much I fear 
Morality sounds painful to the Ear, 

The Dogs of Night, that murder & that steal, 
Outwatch the Watchmen of the publick Weal: 
Fools, that we are ! less Labour to employ 
To save ourselves, than Villains to destroy. 
Suppose your Body sick; at any Price 
You run to Mead or HoUings for Advice: 
This for thy Body: but suppose thy Mind, 
For that what Mead or HoUings will you find? 



OF R. WEST. 121 

Eise, Sluggard, rise & quit thy Morning-Bed 

E're yet Aiirora lifts her rosy Head: 

Take Plato down, take Tully, take Bruyere^, 

Make honest Things, & Studies all thy Care : 

At sight of Industry Vice flies away. 

As Spectres vanish at the Face of Day. 

If ought offensive to the Eye appear 

Not long You let the Object be too near : 

What hurts the Mind more patient to endure, 

For Years together we delay the Cure. 

Meanwhile the Time irrevocable flies : 

Begin, & have the Spirit to be wise: 

Begin, nor do, as did the Rustick Ass 

Who stood, & waited till the Stream should pass 

The Stream, Poor fool! you little seem to know 

Flows, as it flow'd, and will for ever flow. 

The gay Town-house, the pleasant Country-Seat, 

The fertile Meadow, & the Garden neat, 

The fruitful Nursery, the tender Wife, 

Are Joys Men almost value with their Life: 

Yet all these Joys, and more (could more be sent) 

Make not the total of one Word, Content. 

Not all the Gold of the Peruvian Mine, 

Not all the Gems that blaze beneath the Line 

Can cure a Fever, or one Care expell: 

Possessions make not the Possessour well. 

The Man, who lives in Hope, or lives in Fear, 

In nougt he has can tast the Joy sincere. 

Sooner shall Handel give the deaf delight. 

And Rafael's Pencil charm the Blind to Sight. 

' Norton Nicholls falls into a curious error about this line. 
He says (Reminiscences of Gray) '...I remember part of a line 
among some juvenile ms. verses in his commonplace book of 
advice to West, in which he recommends him to rise early, 
and 

— read Plato, read Bruyere.' 



122 REMAINS 

First cleanse the Vessel, e're the Wine you pour 
T'will else be Vinegar, and Wine no more. 
Obvious to Sense the Allegory lies: 
Would you be happy, be but only wise 
Reject all Pleasures of the Sense; they're vain. 
Each Hour of Pleasure has it's Hour of Pain. 
Bound thy mad Wishes : fix on something sure : 
The Harpy Avarice is ever poor. 
May none but Vilain's^ be with Envy curst! 
Of all the Vices 'tis the Vice the worst : 
Scarce all the Tortures of the Damn'd in Hell 
The Pangs of wretched Envy can excell. 
Sore shall He smart & most severely pay. 
Who lets his Passion o'er his Reason sway : 
Oft, to his Scorn, shall his unguarded Rage 
Act o'er the Part of Cassius on the Stage 
Reprove his Friend, upbraid, insult, resent, 
Rave like one wild, grow sorry, & repent 
Oh! if you'd live in gentle Peace with all 
Restrain the boiling Fury of thy Gall: 
Oh ! early wise it's growing force restrain 
Like the Steed, curb it: like the Lyon, chain. 

Youth, Youth's the Season for Instruction fit. 
The Colt's young Neck is pliant to the Bit. 
The young Hawk listens to the Master's sound, 
The Whelp unlash'd was never yet a Hound. 
Now, Boy, 's the time, my gentle- Boy, draw nigh: 
Come with thy blushing Front, & open Eye 
Now, while thy Breast is, as the Current, clear, 
Unruffled, unpolluted, & sincere: 
Now fair and honest all thy Hours emijloy. 
For know, the Man is grafted on the Boy. 
The Cask once season'd keeps the Flavour long, 
Adieu! thus ends my moralizeing Song. 



OF R. WEST. 128 

Abrupt I finish : my hard Task is o'er : 
Foi'give me, Pope! I'll imitate no more. 

Fav: from Epsome, before I went 
to France in 1739 ^ 

Walpole writes to We>st from Rheims June 18, 1739 
N.S.: "I had prepared the ingredients for a description 
of a ball, but Gray has plucked it from me... to stay your 
stomach, I will send you one of their vaudevilles or 
ballads, which they sing at the comedy after their petites 
pieces." He then mentions Henry Brooke's ' Gustavus 
Vasa.'- 



23, WEST TO WALPOLE. 

Temple, June 21. 1739 
Dear Walpole : 

Your last letter puts me in mind of 
some good people, who, though they give you the 
best dinner in the world, are never satisfied with 
themselves, but — -wish they had known sooner — quite 
ashamed — a little unprepared — hope you'll excuse, 
and so forth : for you tell me, you only send me this 
to stay my stomach against you are better furnished, 
and at the same time you treat me, ut nunquam in 
vita melius. Nor is it now alone that I have room 
to say so, but 'tis always : and I know I had rather 
gather the crumbs that fall from under your table, 

1 Gray's note. - See p. 43 stqn-a and note. 



IS-i CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

than be a prime guest with most other people. Sin- 
cerely, sir, nobody in Great Britain, nor, I believe, in 
France, keeps a more elegant table than yourself: 
mistake me not, I mean a metaphorical one, for else 
I should lie confoundedly : for you know you did not 
use to keep a very extraordinary one, at least when I 
had the honour to dine with you : — boiled cliickens 
and roast legs of mutton were yoiir highest effort. 
But with the metaphor, the case is quite altered : 'tis 
no longer chapon toujours' bouilli : 'tis varium et 
nmtabile semper enough, I am sure : 'tis Italo per- 
J'lisus aceto : 'tis tota merum sal: you see too, it has 
a particularity, which perhaps you did not know 
before, that it is of all genders, and is masculine, 
feminine, or neuter, which you please. Your feasts 
are like Plato's : one feeds upon them for two or 
three days together, et e convivio sajjientiores resur- 
gim/is qmm acculmimus. So it is with me ; and I 
never receive any of your tables, or tahulcv, for you 
know 'tis the same thing, but I exclaim to myself 

Di magni! salicippium- disertum ! 

If you don't understand tliis line, you must consult 
with Doctor Bentley's nephew, who thinks nobody 
can understand it without him ; when after all it 
does not signify a brass farthing whether you under- 
stand it or no. But, sir, this is not all : you not 

^ [tovijours chapon ?] - vid. Catullus 53. 5. 



OF R. WEST. 125 

only treat me with a whole bushel of attic salt, and 
a gallon of Italian vinegar, but you give me some 
English-French music — a vaudeville in both lan- 
guages ! 

Docte sermones iiti'ius(^ue linguae — 

But now I talk of music at a feast ; I'll tell you of a 
feast and music too. About a fortnight ago, walking 
through Leicester-fields, I ran full-butt against some- 
body. Upon examination, who should it be but Mr 

A — ? I mean the nephew of the lord of . So 

we saluted very amicably, and I engaged to sup with 
him Thursday next. To his lodgings I went on 
Thursday, and there I found Plato, PufFendorf, and 
Prato (can't you guess who they be ?) A very good 
supper we had, and Plato gave your health. I believe 
he is in love. Did you ever hear of Nanny Blundel ? 
But I forget our music. We had sir, for an hour or 
two, an Ethiopian, belonging to the Duchess of Atliol, 
who played to us upon the French-horn. A — made 
me laugh about him very much. I said, I suppose 
you give this Ethiopian something to drink ? Upon 
which he ordered him half-a-crown. I said, So muehl 
Oh ! he's only a Black, answered he. Puffendorf 
(who you know says good things sometimes) said, not 
amiss. Oh, sir, if he had been a White, he'd have 
given him a crown. I don't pretend to compare our 
supper with your partie de cabaret at Rheims ; but 



126 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

at least, sir, our materials were more sterling than 
yours. You had a gout^ forsooth, composed of des 
fraises, de la creme, du vin, des gateaux, &c. We, 
sir, we supped h, I'Angloise. Inprimis we had buttock 
of beef, and Yorkshire ham ; we had chickens too, and 
a gallon bowl of sallad, and a gooseberry pye as big as 
anything. Now, sir, notwithstanding (do you know 
what this notwithstanding relates to ? I'll mark the 
cue for you — 'tis) notwithstanding, I say, I am neither 
solers citharae, neque musae deditus ulli, as you are ; 
yet, as I am very vain, and apt to have a high opinion 
of my own poetry, I have a mind to treat you as 
elegantly as you have treated me — as you remember 
a certain doctor at King's College did the Duke of 
Devonshire — and so have prepared you a little sort 
of musical accompagnamento for your entertainment. 
'Tis true I said to myself very often — 

An quodcunque facit Maecenas, Te quoque verum est, 
Tanto dissimilem, at tanto certare minorem ? 

Then I reflected — 

Ut gratas inter mensas .symphouia discors, 

Et crassum uuguentura, et Sardo cum melle i^apaver, 

Offendunt, poteiat duci quia coena sine illis ; 

Sic animis natum inventumque poema juvandis, 

Si paulum summo discessit, vergit ad imum. 

Yet in spite of these two long quotations (which I 
made no other use of than what you see) I still 



OF R. WEST. 127 

determined to scrape a little, and accordingly have 
sent yon, in lien of your vaudeville, a miserable 
elegy'. 

* Imitated from Propertius El : 15 : Lib. S : 
Nunc, oh Bacche tnis &c. 

Now prostrate Bacchus at thy Shrine I bend: 
This once be gracioiis Father and attend ! 
Thine great Lyaeus is the power confest 
To chase our sorrows, & restore our rest : 
'Tis thine, each joy attendant on the bowl, 
Thine each gay Lenitive that glads the Soul. 
God of the rosey cheek, & laughing eye. 
To thee from Cynthia and from love I fly : 
If ever Ariadne was thy Care, 
Now shew thy pity, & accept my prayer. 

Then, Bacchus, if by thee renew'd I find, 
As once, my old serenity of mind, 
My Umbrian hill shall flourish with the vine 
Thine Bacchus, all my labours shall be thine 
With my own hands the generous growth I'll rear. 
Rank the young shoots, & watch the riseing year, 
Till all my boughs with the red Autumn bend, 
And the large Vintage in my Vats descend. 

Hail, mighty Bacchus, to my latest hour 
In grateful strains I'll celebrate thy power ; 
And as I strike the Dithyrambic string, 
Thy name, thy glory, & thy ijower I'll sing : 
Thy birth I'll sing, thy mother's fatal fires. 
Thy Indian trojjhies, & Nysaean choirs : 

^ This elegy does not appear. [Berry.] I think it must be 
the Imitation of Propertius which I find in Gray's Common 
Place Books at Pembroke with date of this month and year. 



128 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

I'll sing Lycurgus by his Pride undone : 
The dire disaster of Agave's son : 
And the false Tuscans hurl'd into the Main. 
I'll sing the wonders of the Naxian plain 
Thy lakes of honey & thy floods of wine ; 
Such blessings, father, are reserved for thine! 
Now, lo Bacchus! to the general Song, 
Bacchus, to thee I'll lead the pomp along : 
O'er thy white neck the vivid Ivy spread, 
The Lycian mitre nodding on thy head : 
Divine with oil thy honest face shall glow, 
And to thy feet the dauncing robe shall flow. 
Meantime thy Orgies in procession come : 
Dii'caean Thebes shall beat the hollow Drum, 
Th' Arcadian reed shall give a softer sound. 
And Phrygian cimbals rattle hoarse around : 
High at thy shrine the Flamen Priest shall stand 
White-robed, with Ivy crown'd, and in his hand 
The golden Vase : th' inferiour throng shall sing : 
lo ! again shall thro' the Temple ring. 

And I thy Bard these wonders will rehearse. 
And sound thy glories in no common verse : 
Of thee this only recompense I ask, 
A slight reward for such a toilsome task, 
'Tis but to ease my bosom of its pain. 
And never may I feel the pangs of love again. i 

I dare say you wish you could shake the pen out 
of my hand. But I do'nt know how it is ; I am at 
present in a vein to make up for the dryness of most 
of my former letters since you have been abroad; 
and I can't tell but that I may fill up this sheet, if 
not another, with more such trumpery. I forgot all 

1 'Fav: June 1739' — Gray's note. 



OF R. WEST. 129 

this while to thank for the packet' which I have 
received, and which was more welcome to me than 
an Amiens-pye ; for I can't help running on with the 
metaphor I set out with ; and you know I always was 
a heluo librorum. The first thing I pitched upon was 
Crebillon's love-letters, allured by the garnishing, I 
fancy ; that is, the red leaves and the blue silk 
kalendar. 'Tis an ingenious account of the progress 
of love in a very virtuous lady's heart, and how a 
line gentleman may first gain her approbation, then 
her esteem, then her heart &c. But do'nt you think 
it ends a little too tragically ? For my part, I protest, 
I was very sorry ; the last letter made me cry. But 
the passions are charmingly described all through, 
and the language is fine. After this I would have 
read the Amusement Philosophique ; but Asheton 
has run away with it — 

Callidus, quicquid placuit jocoso 
Condere furto. 

Very jocose indeed to rob a body ! So I ha'n't 
seen it since. Gustave is no bad thing, as far as I 
can judge. One may see the author was young when 
he wrote it, and it looks to me like a first play of an 

^ ' We are making you a little bundle of petites pieces : there 
is nothing in them, but they are acting at present ; there are 
too Crebillon's letters, and Amusemens sur le langage des 
Betes, said to be of one Bougeant, a Jesuit ; they are both 
esteemed, and lately come out.' Gray to West, from Paris, 
May 22, 1739. 

G. 9 



130 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

author. But the language is natural, and in many 
places poetical. The plot is very entertaining, only 
I do'nt like the conclusion. It ends abrupt, and 
Leonor comes in at last too much like an apparition. 
The rest of the pieces I have not read ; but from 
what I can discover by a transient view, I fancy they 
are better seen than read. 

I am now at the eigtli page : 'tis time to have 
done, and wish you adieu, I hear Sir Eobert is very 
well. My Lord Conway' is reckoned one of the 
prettiest persons about town. 

Yours ever 
K West. 

24. *ASHTON TO WEST. 

London. Aug. 25. 1739. 
Friend ^ 

The kind Message thou didst leave with my 
servant John raisd my Appetite of seeing thee to a very 
great Pitch, in so much that my bowells did yearn, 
yea verily I did hunger & thirst for thy Company 
many days. I would have devourd thy Sayings, & 
would have hung upon thy Mouth, as an infant 
hangs on the Nipple of the breast. I would have 
suckd in thy words, as the warm new Milk, but thou 

1 See siqyya p. 40 n. 1 and p. 44. 

■■^ This Letter is in a large regular assumed Hand, to imi- 
tate tlie Quakers' Manner of Penmanship. (Mitford.) 



OF R, WEST. 131 

hast defrauded my Soul, & withdrawn thyself un- 
kindly from me. 

The exhortation I gave thee was good, tho' clothd 
in the language of the Profane. Feed thy Soul with 
such food, and truly thou wilt be fat & well liking. 

Our friend Whitfield is too hard for Edmund 
Gibson'. Perhaps thou hast seen his Answer it is 
wrote in the meek Spirit of Satyr, in all the humility 
of religious Sneer. I doubt the Spirit of Truth had 
no hand in the Controversy. 

Our friends on the other side of the Water salute 
thee, but they complain as much of the want of thy 
letters as I do of the want of thyself. 

Fare thee well. 

The following is in answer to a letter from Gray dated 
Lyons, Sept. 18 N.S. 17.39, in which he reproaches West 
for having let him reside three months at Rheims without 
writing more than once. Gray describes in pretty and. 
humorous fashion the junction of the Rhone and Saone 
and says "All yesterday morning we were busied in 
climbing up Mount Fourvi^re where the ancient city stood 
perched at such a height that nothing but the hopes of 
gain could certainly ever persuade their neighbours to 
pay them a visit." He concludes by saying that there are 
at Lyons "a thousand matters that you shall not know 
till you give me a description of the Pais de Tombridge, 
and the effect its waters have upon you." 

1 Bp of London. He wrote a Pastoral Letter against 
Lukewarmness and Enthusiasm (1739), to which Whitefield 
rephed in the same year. 

9—2 



132 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 



25. WEST TO GRAY. 

Temple, Sep. 28. 1739. 

If wishes could turn to realities, I would fling- 
down my law books, and sup with you to-night : 
But, alas! here I am doomed to fix, while you are 
fluttering from city to city, and enjoying all the 
pleasures which a gay climate can afford. It is out 
of the power of my heart to envy your good fortune, 
yet I cannot help indulging a few natural desires ; as 
for example, to take a walk with you on the banks of 
the Rhone, and to be climbing up mount Fourviere ; 

lam mens praetrepidans avet vagari: 
lam laeti studio pedes vigescunt. 

However, so long as I am not deprived of your 
correspondence, so long shall I always find some 
pleasure in being at home. And, setting all vain 
curiosity aside, when the fit is over, and my reason 
begins to come to herself, I have several other power- 
ful motives which might easily cure me of my restless 
inclinations. Amongst these, my mother's ill state 
of health is not the least, which was the reason of 
our going to Tunbridge ; so that you cannot expect 
much description or amusement from thence. Nor 
indeed is there much room for either ; for all diver- 
sions there may be reduced to two articles, gaming 



OF R. WEST. 133 

and going to church. They were pleased to publish 
certain Tunbrigiana this season; but such ana! I 
believe there were never so many vile little verses put 
together before. So much for Tunbridge. London 
affords me as little to say. What ! So huge a town 
as London? Yes, consider only how I live in that 
town. I never go into the gay or high world, and 
consequently receive nothing from thence to brighten 
my imagination. The busy world I leave to tlie 
busy; and am resolved never to talk politics till 
I can act at the same time. To tell old stories, or 
prate of old books, seems a little musty; and toujours 
chapon bouilli, won't do. However, for want of 
better fare, take another little mouthful of my 
poetry. 

mesB jucunda comes quietis! 
Qu£e fere aegrotum solita es levare 
Pectus, et sensim, ah! nimis ingruentes 
Fallere curas: 

Quid canes? quanto Lyra die furore 
Gesties quando hac reducem sodalem 
Glauciam^ gaudere simul videbis 

Meque sub umbra? 

Walpole to We^t from Turin Nov. 11, 1739, N.S. relates 
how on the passage of Mont Cenis his spaniel 'Tory' was 
seized by a young wolf 2. He sends a copy of an inscription 

' He gives Mr Gray the name of Glaucias frequently in his 
Latin verse, as Mr Gray calls him Favonius. [Mason.] 

■■' Letters of Walpole ed. Cunningham, vol. i. no. 18. 
Gray to his Mother, Works vol. ii. let. xxi. ed. Gosse. 



134 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

recording how Charles Emmanuel II., duke of Savoy 'viam 
regiam...dejectis scopulorum repagulis, eequata montium 
iniquitate, quae cervicibus imminebant praecipitia pedibus 
substernens, seternis populorum commerciis patefecit. 
A.D. 1670...'. Among the English at Turin he mentions 
'a Mr C * * *, a man that never utters a syllable. We have 
tried all stratagems to make him speak. Yesterday he 
did at last open his mouth and said Bee. We all laughed 
so at the novelty of the thing that he shut it again, and 
will never speak more.' 



26. WEST TO WALPOLE. 

Temple, Dec. 13, 1739. 
Dear Walpole : 

Bee! for I have not spoke to-day, and there- 
fore I am resolved to speak to you first. Asheton is 
of opinion you have read Herodotus ; but I imagine 
no such thing, and verily believe the gentleman to be 
a Phoenician'. I can't forgive Mont Cenis poor 
Tory's death! 1 can assure her I'll never sing her 
panegyric, unless she serves all her wolves as Edgar 
the Peaceable did. It did touch a little upon the 
traveller. What do you think it put me in mind of? 

^ See Herodotus ii. 2. West here makes a slip. The 
experiment of Psammetichus discovered that the Fhrygians 
were the oldest nation, ^4kos being the Phrygian name lor 
bread. 



OF R. WEST. 13o 

Not a bit like, but it put me in mind of poor 
Mrs Eider in Cleveland', where she's tore to pieces 
by the savages. I can't say I much like your Alps by 
the description you give ; but still I have a strange 
ambition to be where Hannibal was: it must be a 
pretty thing to fetch a walk in the clouds, and to 
have the snow up to one's ears. But I am really 
surprised at your going two leagues in five hours: 
a'n't it prodigious quick, to go down such a terrible 
descent? The inscription you mention is very pretty 
Latin. I see already you like Italy .better than 
France and all its works. When shall you be at 
Rome? Middleton, I think, says, you find there 
everything you find everywhere else. I expect 
volume upon volume there. Do you never write 
folios as well as quartos? You know I am a helao of 
everything of that kind, and I am never so happy as 
when — nerhosa et grandis epistola venit-^—We have 
strange news here in town, if it be but true : we hear 
of a sea-fight between six of our men of war and ten 

1 Probably the Histoire de 31. Cleveland, Jils naturel de 
Cromwel; ou, le Philoi^ophe Anglais. Ecrite par Lui-meme. 
Utrecht (Paris) 1732-9. It appeared almost at the same time 
in English, being published by Nicholas Prevost in the Strand. 
It was written by the Abbe Prevost, the author of Manon 
Lescaut. (The editor finds these particulars of Cleveland, 
which he has never read, in Notes and Queries 1885 vol. i. 
pp. 370, 371, contributions by Mr Edward Solly and Mi Henri 
van Laun.) 



13(5 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

Spanish; and that we sunk one and took five. I 
should not forget that Mr Pelham' has lost two only 
children at a stroke : 'tis a terrible loss : they died of 
a sort of sore-throat. To muster up all sort of news : 
Glover^ has put out on this occasion a new poem, 
called London, or The Progress of Commerce ; where- 
in he very much extols a certain Dutch poet, called 
Janus Douza, and compares him to Sophocles; I 
suppose he does it to make interest upon 'Change. 
Plays we have none, or damned ones. Handel has 
had a concerto this winter. No opera, no nothing. 
All for war and Admiral Haddock. Farewell and 
adieu ! 

Yours, 

E. West. 



Walpole at Bologna had been reading the 2nd Georgic. 
He says that 11. 461 — 466 are exactly like Martial : that 
11. 495—498 resemble Claudian ; 11. 501—506, Juvenal ; 
11. 523—534, Horace. 

He does not intend, he says, to send West an account 
of what he has seen. "Only think what a vile employ- 
ment 'tis making catalogues. And then one should have 



1 The Eight Honourable Henry Pelham, brother of the 
Minister Duke of Newcastle, and Prime Minister himself at 
the time of his death in 1754. [Cunningham.] 

- Richard Glover, author of Leonidas, died 1785. West's 
father was the maternal uncle of Glover, and in the Inner 
Temple Hall is a portrait of Lord Chancellor West, presented 
by Glover. [Cunningham.] 



OF R. WEST. 187 

that odious CurP get at one's letters, and publish them 
like Whitfield's Journal, or for a supplement to the 
Traveller's Pocket-companion." (Letters i. p. 31 ed. 
Cunningham.) Meanwhile the winter in England, as will 
be seen, has been very severe. 

* Ipse Pater Thamisinus aquas jam frigore vinci 
Ingemit, hostilemq a magno corpore frustra 
Connisus glaciem, & srevas relevare catenas, 
Indignans imo cursum eluctatur in alveo : 
Ingruit interea, & toto se flumine sternit 
Torpida Vis hyemis: lympharum agitabilis humor 
Deperit, & solidi mutatur imagine campi. 
Nee jam u.squam ratibus locus, ut imus; omnia duris 
Irrita substiterunt vinclis, lateque rigescunt 
Relliquiffi cymbarum, & fracto robore palmse, 
Velaq et antennfe: tristis stat navita ripa 
Ingratasque rates artemq reponit inanem. 

At populum tota certatim ex urbe ruentem 
Migrare in fluvium cemas, durumque per iequor 
Hue illuc volitare : omnes uno impete gaudent 
Immixti pueriq leves, timidaeq puellae 
Nymphffiq, juvenesq & gressu tardior fetas. 
Quin subitis etiam constructa mapalia tignis 
iEdificant : Thamisisq suo consurgere dorso 
Miratur, scenamque fori, stabilesque tabernas 
Insuetosq Lares, & non navaUa tecta. 

Fav: the hard Winter 17402. 



' Walpole was of course not aware that Curll was tricked 
by Pope into pubHshing his correspondence. See Courthope's 
Life of Pope, pp. 283—290. 

* Gray's note in Pembr. Common Place Books, whence the 
above is transcribed. 



138 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

27. WEST TO WALPOLE. 

Jan. 23. 1740. 

It thaws, it thaws, it thaws ! A' n't you glad of it ? 
I can assure you we are: we have been this four 
weeks a-freezing: our Thames has been in chains, 
our streets almost unpassable with snow, and dirt, 
and ice, and all our vegetables and animals in distress. 
Really, such a frost as ours has been is a melancholy 
thing. I don't wonder now that whole nations have 
worshipped the sun; I am almost inclined myself to 
be a Guebre: tell Orosmades'. I believe you think 
I'm mad, but you would not if you knew what it was 
to want the sun as we do : 'tis a general frost delivery. 
Heaven grant the thaw may last ! for 'tis a question. 

Your last letter, my dear Walpole, is welcome. I 
thank you for its longitude, and all its parallel lines. 
You have rather transcribed too many lines out of 
Virgil : but your criticism I agree with, without any 
hesitation. Whimsical, quotha: 'tis just and new. 
You might have added Ovid — 

Quos rami fructus, quos ipsa — - 

and Statius: 

At secura quies — •* 

and what follows down to 

Non absunt — 
But what do you think? Your observations have set 

1 Gray, see n. pp. 80, 81. 
- Georg. ii. 500. ■- lb. 4G7— 471. 



OF R. WEST, 139 

me a-translating, and Ashton has told me it was worth 
sending. Excuse it, 'tis a tramontane. I shall cer- 
tainly publish your letters. But now I think on't, 1 
won't; I should make Pope quite angry. Addio, mio 
caro, addio ! Dove sei ? Ritorna, ritorna, amato bene ! 

Yours from S. Paul's to St Peter's! 

R. West. 

I believe you must send my translation to the 
academy of the Gelati. 

My love to Gray, and pray tell him from me 

^vxos S^ XeTTTiS XP'^'^'- TToKefituiTaToi'.^ 

28. WEST TO WALPOLE. 

March 29, 1740. 
My dear Walpole : 

Since I have finished the first act', I send you 
now the rest of it. Wliether I shall go on with it is 
to me a doubt. I find you all make the same objec- 
tions to my style: but change my manner now I 

^ A fragment of Euripides quoted by Cicero, Ep. ad Fam. 
XVI. 8. [Berry.] 

- Of his tragedy of Pausanias. Gray wrote from Florence 
more than a year after this to West (April 21, 1741): "I 
mujst defer giving my opinion of Pausanias till I can see the 
whole, and only have said what I did in obedience to your 
commands." That West may have his revenge he sends him 
the first 58 lines of his 'De Principiis Cogitandi'. 'Pausanias' 
is lost, or at least evades search. 



140 CORRESPONDENCE ETC, 

ca'nt, for it would not be all of a piece, and to begin 
afresh goes against my stomach ; so I believe I must 
even break it off and bequeath it to my grandchildren 
to be finished with other old pieces of family work. I 
have another objection to it, and that is, the unlucky 
affair of an impeachment in the play. For, supposing 
the thing public, which it was never intended to be, 
every blockhead of the faction would swear Pausanias 
was Greek for Sir Robert, though it may as well 
stand for Bolingbroke. But the truth is, the Greek 
word signifies neither one nor t'other, as you may find 
in Scapula, Suidas, and other lexicographers. 

R. W. 

Gray writes to West from Florence, Jan. 15, 1740, re- 
coimting the places which he has visited since leaving 
Genoa, but refusing to give him a detailed account even 
of Florence itself. 'Before I enter into particulars' he 
says 'you must make your peace both with me and the 
Venus de Medicis, who, let me tell you, is highly and 
justly offended at you for not inquiring, long before this, 
concerning her symmetry and proportions.' Mason tells 
us that the letter which accompanied West's Elegy in 
j*eply 'is not extant: probably it was only enclosed in one 
to Mr Walpole.' 

ELEGIA. 

Ergo desidiae videor tibi crimine dignus; 

et merito: victas do tibi sponte manus. 
Arguor & veteres nimium contemnere Musas 

irata et nobis est Medicaea Venus. 



OF R. WEST. 141 

Mene igitur statuas & iiiania saxa vereri ! 

Stultule! marmorea quid mihi cum Venere? 
Hie verse, hie vivae Veneres, et mille per urbem 

quarum nulla queat non plaeuisse lovi. 
Cedite Eomanae formosae, et cedite Graiae, 

siutq oblita Helenas nomen, et Hermionae! 
Et quascuuq refeit aetas vetus, Heroinae: 

unus houos nostris jam venit Aiigliasin. 
Ob quales vultus ! Oh quantum numeu ocellis! 

i nunc, et Tuscas improbe confer ojDes. 
Ne tamen haec obtusa nimis praecordia credas, 

neu me adeo nulla Palladc progenitum : 
Tester Pieridumq umbras & flumina Pindi, 

me quoque Calliopes semper amasse choros; 
Et dudum Ausonias urbes, & visere Graias 

cura est, ingenio si licet ire meo: 
Sive est Phidiacum manner, seu Mentoris aera. 

Sen paries Coo nobilis e calamo ; 
Nee minus artificum magna argumenta recentum 

Romaniq decus nominis, & Veneti: 
Qua Furor & Mavors & saevo in marmore vultus, 

quaq et formoso mollior aere Venus ; 
Quaq loquax spirat fucus, viviq labores, 

et quidquid calamo dulcius ansa manus : 
Hie nemora et sola mserens Meliboeus in umbra, 

lymphaq muscoso prosiliens lapide; 
Illic majus opus, faciesque in pariete major 

exsurgens^, Divum et numina Coelicolum. 
vos felices^, quibus haec cognoscere fas est, 

et tota Italia qua patet usque frui! 
Nulla dies vobis eat injucunda nee usquam 

noritis^ quid sit tempora amara pati.- 

1 Gray's transcript has 'exurgens', 'foelices', noritis. 
- [Gray notes on Pemb. mss. "Fav: sent from London to 
Florence. April — 17iO."] 



142 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

29. WEST TO GRAY. 

Bond-street, June 5, 1740 1. 

I lived at the Temple till I was sick of it : 1 have 
just left it, and find myself as much a lawyer as 
I was when I was in it. It is certain, at least, I may 
study the law here as well as I could there. My 
being in chambers did not signify to me a pinch of 
snuff. They tell me my father was a lawyer, and, as 
you know, eminent in the profession; and such a 
circumstance must be of advantage to me. My 
imcle" too makes some figure in Westminster-hall; 
and there's another advantage: then my grand- 
father's name would get me many friends. Is 
it not strange that a young fellow, that might 
enter the world with so many advantages, will 
not know his own interest? &c. &c. What shall I 
say in answer to all this? For money, I neither dote 
upon it nor despise it ; it is a necessary stuff enough. 
For ambition, I do not want that neither; but it is 
not to sit upon a bench. In short, is it not a dis- 
agreeable thing to force one's inclination, especially 
when one's young? not to mention that one ought to 

^ A letter of Asbtou's partly badinage, partly flattery, and 
neither in good taste, (belonging I think to this time approxi- 
mately), was directed to Mr Richard West at Mrs Sherard's in 
Prince's Court near Story's gate, Westminster. 

- Sir Thomas Burnet. 



OF R. WEST, 143 

have the strength of a Hercules to go through our 
common law; which I am afraid, I have not. Well! 
but then, say they, if one profession does not suit 
you, you may choose another more to your inclination. 
Now I protest I do not yet know my own inclination, 
and I believe, if that was to be my direction, I shovild 
never fix at all. There is no going by a weather- 
cock. I could say much more upon this subject; 
but there is no talking tete-i\-tete cross the Alps. 
Oh the folly of young men, that never know their 
own interest! they never grow wise till they are 
ruined! and then nobody pities them, nor helps 
them. Dear Gray! consider me in the condition of 
one that has lived these two years without any person 
that he can speak freely to. I know it is very seldom 
that people trouble themselves with the sentiments of 
those they converse with; so that they can chat 
aboiit trifles, they never care whether your heart 
aches ov no. Are you one of these? I think not. 
But what right have I to ask you this question? 
Have we known one another enough, that I should 
expect or demand sincerity from you ? Yes, Gray, I 
liope we have; and I have not quite such a mean 
opinion of myself, as to think I do not deserve it. 
But, signor, is it not time for me to ask something 
about your future intentions abroad? Where do you 
])ropose going next? an in Apuliam? nam illo si 
adveneris, tanquam Ulysses, cognosces tuorum nemi- 



144 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

nem. Vale. So Cicero prophesies in the end of one 
of his letters'— and there I end. 

Yours &c. 

Of the preceding letter Mason says that it is ' written 
apparently in much agitation of mind which Mr West 
endeavours to conceal by an unusual carelessness of 
manner.' To it Gray replies in a letter from Florence 
(July 16, 1740): "You do yourself and me justice, in 
imagining that you merit, and that I am capable of sin- 
cerity. .. .Why did you change your lodging? Was the air 
bad, or the situation melancholy ? If so, you are quite in 
the right." He then tries to reconcile him to the study of 
the law. "Are you sure, if Coke had been printed by 
Elzevir, and bound in twenty neat pocket volumes, instead 
of one folio, you should never have taken him for an hour, 
as you would a TuUy, or drank your tea over him2?...Do 
you really think, if you rid ten miles every morning, in a 
week's time you should not entertain much stronger hopes 
of the Chancellorship... than you do at present?" 

On August 13th 1740 Ashton sent to West a tedious 
(but happily incomplete) letter on the Sublime. The 
following replies are only given in extenso to make the 
collection of West's work as complete as possible. Ash- 
ton's letter was directed " To be left at Morley's Coffee 
House, Tunbridge Wells, Kent." 



' Cicero to L. Valerius (Ad Diversos i. 10), but with more 
point 'Neque in Apuliam tuam accedas ' &c. 

" Cf. Henry Mackenzie's 'Man of Feeling' chap. sii. 'One 
of his guardians indeed, who in his youth had been an in- 
habitant of the Temple, set him to read Coke upon Littleton, a 
book which is very properly put into the hands of beginners in 
that science, as its simplicity is accommodated to their under- 
standings, and its size to their inclination.' 



OF R. WEST. 145 



30. * WEST TO ASHTON. 

To 

Thomas Asliton Esq"" 

at the Honble M'"'' Lewis's 
in Hanover Square 
London 

No more of your civil Prefaces, dear Ashton ; I 
am sorry we can't agree, but who can help it? I 
shall never be of your opinion, till you can convince 
me ; and I beg you'll never be of mine, but upon the 
same Condition. Our controversy, I find, is reduced 
to this one question. Whether your definition of the 
Sublime is a just and comprehensive definition or 
not? 

The Sublime, say you, is a just and lively re- 
presentation of the grand objects and Circumstances 
of Nature. Now, I humbly propose another question 
first i.e. whether your definition is a clear and ex- 
pressive definition or not? 

This question indeed is of little importance to 
yrself, who made the definition & consequently 
must know yr own Meaning when you made it: 
but to me, who did not make it, and only guess yr 
Meaning from the Words, I read in the definition 
itself, it is of great importance. For how should 
I know whether the Meaning of a Definition is just, 
G. 10 



14G CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

unless the Words are clear to me? How should 
I judge whether 'tis comprehensive, unless I com- 
prehend it? 

I had no doubts about my comprehension till 
your last letter ; but now I have : for you seem there 
to give a greater latitude of meaning to some of your 
Words, than I think the Words will bear. 

I shall be in Town very soon & then you shall 
explain to me, if you'll give yourself the trouble : for 
I hate all explanations but oral explanations. 

Besides if you send any more letters I shall miss 
them: for the Company is all gone from here & 
the Consequence is, that the Post brings us no more 
letters. 

Yours internally 

R. W. 

Tunbridge Wells. Sept. 31. 1740. 

31. * WEST TO ASHTON. 
[Imperfect.]^ 

I mean ; 'tis like that Picture of a handsome man, 
which, at the same time 'tis very well executed, yet 
owes its Principal beauty to its prototype. 

2ndly. I am afraid I talk both superficially & 
unintelligibly : but I'll proceed, tho' I waste another 

1 Mitford, — who seems to make this the second of these two 
letters on the Sublime. 



OF R. WEST. 147 

sheet of paper. The Sublime therefore which I 
mean, I place neither in the object, nor in the idea 
immediately rising from it. I must place it therefore 
at last either in the Sentiment or expression, or both: 
and now methinks I am returnd to wliat occasiond 
tlie debate, between the Lord and the Doctor. Were 
I to place it in either singly, I .shoiild certainly place 
it in the Sentiment — for there is the Principium 
& fens. Unless yon think nobly, I defy you to talk 
so, or even to look so, much less to act so. Noble 
thoughts are the common Substratum of noble 
actions & discourses, the orator and the hero are both 
derived from hence. But I place it in both, tho' 
more in the Sentiment, than in the Expression. And 
this perhaps is the reason, why a great Sentiment 
expressd even in the simplest words, will neverthe- 
less appear sublime. The true sublime is like true 
Beauty 'Induitur formosa est; exuitur, ipsa forma 
est' — it rather looses' than gains by ornament. It 
thunders, it lightens, it bursts immediately from the 
mind of the Orator upon his Hearers, it convinces 
tliem, it amazes them, its authority is irresistible. 
Such are (?was) the Speech of Henry the IV*'' of 
France to his Soldiers— There are your Ennemyes — 
remember you are Frenshmen' — and that Henry is 
your General — Supposing these words accompanied 

1 sic in Mitford's transcript. 

10—2 



148 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

Avitli their proper emphasis and Fire, in Speaking, do 
you think there was any Frenshman', there, who 
would not have fought to the last drop in his veins? 
and so much, Sirs, for the Sentiment. 

3. I come now to the Expression, which is all, 
that is further requisite in the writer; but in the 
Orator there would be pronunciation, gesture &c. 
which it would be foreign to talk of here : nor have I 
room to talk much more about its Expression, I shall 
only make this one observation i.e. — That in the 
description of the Sublime, objects such [as ?] are so 
naturally 'tis usual to give into sounding Phrases and 
noble Metaphors — but when the Sublime is in the 
Sentiment itself, 'tis generally cloathd in simple 
expressions. 

If I may give the Preference, I should prefer the 
last kind, but I doubt— and you are tired I see, 
& think I have been talking nonsense for a good 
while together — so — Finis 

R. West. 

A6^a ixbvi^ T(fj Gey 

P.S. Alexander", the Great, Banquier j\ Paris, 



1 sic in Mitford's transcript. 

- Walpole writes to West, Nov. 1740, 'Direct to me 
addressed to Monsieur Selwyn, chez Monsieur Alexandre, rue 
St ApoUine, a Paris. If Mr Alexandre is not there, the street 
is, and I believe that will be sufficient." 



OF R. WEST. 149 

is in the Bastile. Pray how are we to send our 
letters. 

To Thomas Ashton Esq' 
at jVP^ Lewis's, at her house 
in Hanover Square, London. 

32. * WEST TO ASHTON. 

To 

M"" Ashton 

at M''* Lewis's in 

Hanover Square 

London 
pour 

Angleterre 

Dear Ashton, 

West at Paris? would you believe it? and 
yet 'tis so. How it came about, is another Story. 
Some time or other, you may know it, but be assur'd, 
I did not come to divert myself. Expect therefore no 
letters of entertainment from me, I am taken up with 
something else, and consider myself at Paris, just as 
I did at London. Nevertheless, if you have a mind 
to hear from an old friend now and then, you shall ; 
have pity too on me, in a strange Country, and wTite 
to me sometimes. Be so good as to call or send to 
Dick's Coffee house, and if there are any letters for 

' Ashton it will be noted was not ordained in 1740. In- 
troductory Essay, p. 3, n. 1. 



150 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

me, I slid be glad to have them sent me. My address 
is racomand^ a Mess''^ Lubliard & Vernil, Banquiers, 
rue de St Martin a Paris. 

Excuse me, I am in haste, as everything here is. 
Adieu ! & do'nt forget me. 

Paris, May 8, N. S. [1741]. 

A Postscript of Gray's (Florence, July 31, X. S. 1740) to 
a letter from Walpole to West, throws some light upon the 
following application from West to Walpole. Gray says : 
"We shall never come home again; a universal war is 
just upon the point of breaking out; all out-lets will be 
shut up. You do'nt tell me what proficiency you make 
in the noble science of defence. Do'nt you start still at 
the sound of a gun ? Have you learned to say Ha ! ha ! 
and is your neck clothed with thunder? Are your whiskers 
of a tolerable length ? And have you got drunk yet with 
brandy and gunpowder I Adieu, noble Captain 1 " 

The criticism of Pausanias to which West refers infni, 
was sent from Reggio on the 10th of May N.S. 1741. From 
it we gather that there were two characters in the play 
named Cleodora and Argilius, who according to Walpole 
'do not talk laconic but low English'; and that Cleodora 
was a Persian, and might be expected to speak more 
heroically. 

33. WEST TO WALPOLE. 

Loudon, June 22, 1741. 

Dear Walpole : 

I have received your letter from Reggio, 
of the 10th of May, and have heard since that you fell 



OF 11. WEST. 151 

iir there, and are now recovered and returning to 
England through France. I heard the bad and good 
news both together ; and so was afflicted and com- 
forted both in a breath. My joy now has got the 
better, and I live in hopes of seeing you here again. 
The author of the first act of Pausanias desires his 
love to you; and, in return for your criticism, which 
seems so severe to him in some parts and so prodigious 
favourable in others, that if he were not actpiainted 
with your unprejudiced way of tliinking, he should 
not know what to say to it, has ordered me to ac- 
quaint you with an accident that happened to him 
lately, on a little journey he made. It seems he 
had put all his writings, whether in jirose or rhyme, 
into a little box, and carried them with him. Now, 

1 There is no mention of Gray in Walpole"s letter of the 
10th of May, and it is probable that the quarrel and the de- 
parture of Gray for Venice, had alread}^ taken place. From a 
letter of Gray to West of the 21st of April from Florence it 
seems that Gray and Walpole had planned to visit Venice 
together by the 11th of May, in time to see the Doge wed the 
Adriatic. Walpole says (Short Notes of my Life) 'Mr Gray 
left me, going to Venice, with Mr Francis Whithed and Mr 
John Chute, for the festival of the Ascension. I fell ill at 
Keggio of a kind of quinzy and was given over for five hours, 
escaping with great difficulty.' Spence, (the Oxford Professor 
of Poetry and friend of Pope, author of the 'Anecdotes' &c.) 
whose acquaintance Walpole had made at Florence, fortunately 
found himself at Reggio, and his opportune assistance probably 
saved Walpole's life. (See Walpole's Letters ed. Cunningham, 
vol. I. p. 64 n.) 



152 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

somebody imagining there was more in the box 
than there really was, has run away with them ; and, 
though strict inquiry has been made, the said author 
has learnt nothing yet, either concerning the person 
suspected, or the box. Since I am engaged in talking 
of this author, and as I know you have some little 
value for him, I beg leave to acquaint you with some 
particulars relating to him, which perhaps you will 
not be so averse to hear. 

You must know then, that from his cradle up- 
wards he was designed for the law, for two reasons : 
first, as it was the profession which his father followed, 
and succeeded in, and consequently there was a like- 
lihood of his gaining many friends in it : and, secondly, 
upon account of his fortune, which was so inconsider- 
able, that it was impossible for him to support himself 
without following some profession or other. Never- 
theless, like a rattle as he is, he has hitherto fixed on 
no profession : and for the law in particular, upon 
trial he lias found in himself a natural aversion to it : 
in the meanwhile he has lost a great deal of time, to 
the great diminution of his narrow fortune, and to 
the no little scandal of his friends and relations. At 
length, upon serious consideration, he has resolved 
that something was to be done, for that poetry and 
Pausanias would never be sufficient to maintain him. 
And what do you think he has resolved upon? Why, 
apprehending that a general war in Europe was 



OF R. WEST. 153 

approaching, and therefore, that there might be some 
opportunity given, either of distinguishing himself, 
or being knocked of the head : being convinced, 
besides, that there was little in life to make one over 
fond of it — he has chosen the army; and being told 
that it was a much cheaper way to procure a com- 
mission by the means of a friend, than to buy one, to 
do which he must strip himself of what fortune he 
has left, he desired me to use what little interest I 
had with my friends to procure him what he wanted. 

At first I objected to him the weakness of his 
constitution, which might render him incapable of 
military service, and several other things; but all to 
no purpose. He told me, he was neither knave nor 
fool enough to run in debt, and that he must either 
abscond from mankind, or do something to enable him 
to live as he would upon a decent rank, and with 
dignity ; and that what he chose was this. 

I perceived there was nothing to reply; so I 
submitted ; and as I have some sort of regard for the 
man, I promised him I would iise what interest I had, 
and frankly told him, I would venture to ask for him 
what I should hardly ask for myself. 

Excuse my freedom, dear Walpole ; and whether 
I succeed or not, assure yourself that I shall always be. 
Yours most affectionately, 
K. West. 



154 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

34. *GRAY TO WEST. 

(date uncertain)! 

As I know you are a lover of Curiosities, 1 send 
you the following, which is a true and faithful 
Narrative of what passed in my study on Saturday 
the 16"', instant. I was sitting there very tranquil 
in my chair, when I was suddenly alarmd with a 
gTeat hubbub of Tongues. In the Street, you sup- 
pose? No! in my Study, Sir. In your Study say 
you? Yes & between my books, which is more. For 
why should not books talk as well as Crabs & Mice & 
files & Serpents do in Esop. But as I listend with 
great attention so as to remember what I heard 
pretty exactly, I shall set down the whole con- 
versation as methodically as I can, with the names 
prefixed. 

Mad. de Sevigne. Mon cher Aristote ! do get a 
little further or you will quite suffocate me. 

Aristotle. Ow'SeTroTc yw7^...I have as much right 
to this place as you, and I sha'nt remove a jot. 

M. Sevigne. Oh! the brute! Here's my poor 
Sixth tome is squeezed to death : for God's sake, 
Bussy, come & rescue me. 

1 1 incline to assign it to Loudon, 1742 ; although Mitford 
writes 1740. I cannot think it is from abroad ; and Gray was 
abroad during the whole of 1740. From the fact that the letter 
is a fragment, I infer, but with some hesitation, that Mitford's 
date is conjectural. 



OF R. WEST. 155 

Bussy Eabutin. Ma belle Cousine! I would Hy 
to your assistance. Mais voici un diable de Strabon 
qui me tue, and I have no one worth conversing with 
here but Catullus. 

Bruyere. Patience ! You must consider we are 
but books, and so ca'nt help ourselves, for my part 
I wonder who we belong to. We are a strange 
mixture here. I have a Malebranche on one side of 
me, and a Gronovius on t'other. 

Locke. Certainly our owner must have verj' con- 
fused ideas, to jumble us so strangely together. He 
has associated me with Ovid and Bay the Naturalist. 

Virgil. ' Me vero primum dulces ante omnia Musaj 
Accipiant !' 

H. More. Of all the Speculations that the Soul 
of Man can entertain herself withall there is none of 
greater moment than this of her immortality. 

Clieyne. Every man after fourty is either a fool 
or a Physician. 

Euclid. Punctum est cujus nulla est.... 

Boileau. Peste soit de cet homme avec son 
Punctum! I wonder any man of sense will have a 
Mathematician in his Study. 

Swift. In short, let us get the Mathematics 
banishd first, the Metaphysicks and Nat : Philosoph}- 
may follow them. 

Vade Mecum. Pshaw! 1 and the Bible are 
enough for any one Library. 



156 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

This last ridiculous egotism made me laugh so 
heartily that I disturbd the poor books & they 
talk'd no more. 

35. WEST TO GRAY. 

1 write to make you write, for I have not much 
to tell you. I have recovered no spirits as yet, but, 
as I am not displeased with my company, I sit purring 
by the lire-side in my arm-chair, with no small 
satisfaction. I read too sometimes, and have begun 
Tacitus, but have not yet read enough to judge of 
him ; only his Pannonian sedition in the first book of 
his annals, which is just as far as I have got, seemed 
to me a little tedious. I have no more to say, but 
to desire you will write letters of a handsome length, 
and always answer me within a reasonable space of 
time, which 1 leave to your discretion. 

Popes 1, March '2H, 1742. 

P.S. The new Dunciad!" qu'en pensez vous ? 

To West's of March 28 Gray replies: "I trust to the 
country, and that easy indolence you say you enjoy there, 
to restore you your health and spirits ; and doubt not 
but, when the sun grows warm enough to tenipt you from 
your fire-side, you will (like all other things) be the better 
for his influence. He is my old friend, and an excellent 
nurse I assure you." Then follows an excellent criticism 

^ David Mitcheirs Esii-, at Popes near Hatfield, Hertford- 
shire. 

- This is the 4th Book of the Dmiciad published in 1742. 



OF R. WEST. 157 

of Tacitus. Gray proceeds: "As to the Dunciad, it is 
greatly admired; the Genii of Operas and Schools, with 
their attendants, the pleas of the Virtuosos and Florists, 
and the yawn of dulness in the end, are as fine as any 
thing he has written. The Metaphysicians' part is to me 
the worst: and here and there a few ill-expressed lines, 
and some hardly intelligible." He sends West the con- 
cluding speech of the first scene of his Agrippina, which 
he acknowledges to be much too long, and begs West to 
retrench. 

36. WEST TO GRAY. 

Popes, April 4, 1742. 
I own in general I think Agrippiua's speech too 
long ; but how to retrench it, I know not : but I have 
something else to say, and that is in relation to the 
style, which appears to me too antiquated. Racine 
was of another opinion : he nowhere gives you the 
phrases of Ronsard : his language is the language of 
the times, and that of the purest sort; so that his 
French is reckoned a standard. I will not decide 
what style is fit for our Englisli stage : but I should 
rather choose one that bordered upon Cato, than 
upon Shakspeare. One may imitate (if one can) 
Shakspeare's manner, his surprising strokes of true 
nature, his expressive force in painting characters, 
and all his other beauties; preserving at the same 
time our own language. Were Shakspeare alive now, 
he would write in a different style from what he did. 
These are my sentiments upon these matters: per- 
haps I am wi'ong, for I am neither a Tarpa, nor am 



158 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

I quite an Aristarchus. You see I write freely both 
of you and Shaks})eare ; but it is as good as writing 
not freely, where you know it is acceptable. 

I have been tormented within this week with a 
most violent cough ; for when once it sets up its note 
it will go on, cough after cough, shaking and tearing 
me for half an hour together ; and then it leaves me 
in a great sweat, as much fatigued as if I had been 
labouring at the plough. All this description of my 
cough in prose, is only to introduce another descrip- 
tion of it in verse, perhaps not worth your perusal; 
but it is very short, and besides has this remarkable 
in it, that it was the production of four o'clock in the 
morning, while I lay in my bed tossing and coughing, 
and all unable to sleep. 

Ante omnes morbos iinportunissima tussis. 
Qua durare clatur, traxitque sub ilia vires: 
Dura etenim versans inio sub j^ectore regna, 
Perpetuo exercet teneras luctamine costas, 
Oraque distorquet, vocemque immutat anhelam: 
Nee cessare locus: sed saevo concita motu, 
Molle domat latus, & corpus labor omne fatigat; 
Unde molesta dies, noctemque insomnia turbant. 
Nee Tua, si mecum Comes hie jucundus adesses, 
Verba juvare queant, aut hunc lenire dolorem, 
Suffieiat tua vox dulcis, nee vultus amatus.^ 

Do not mistake me, I do not condemn Tacitus : I 

1 "Fav: April 4. Wrote in the Country, after his severe 
Illness, which left behind it continual Hectick, & Cough." 
(Gray's note in Pemb. Common Place Books.) 



OF R. WEST. 159 

was then inclined to find him tedious: the Grerman 
sedition sufficiently made up for it; and the speech 
of Germauicus, by which he reclaims his soldiers, is 
quite nlasterl3^ Your New Dunciad I have no con- 
ception of I sliall be too late for our dinner if I 
write any more. 

Yours. 

Gray rei)lies : "You are the first who ever made a 
Muse of a Cough ; to me it seeius a much more easy task 
to versify in one's sleep (that indeed you were of old 
famous for)i than for want of it.... These wicked remains 
of your illness will sure give way to warm weather and 
gentle exercise; which I hope you will not omit as the 

season advances I talked of the Dunciad as concluding 

you had seen it ; if you have not, do 3'ou choose I should 
get and send it to you?"... He has been reading 'Joseph 
Andrews' upon West's invitation. 'The incidents are ill- 
laid and without invention' but 'the characters have a 
great deal of nature. Parson Adams is perfectly well ; so 

' 'This i.s, I believe, founded in truth; for I remember 
some who were of the same house mentioning that he often 
composed in his dormant state, and that he wrote down in the 
morning what he had conceived in the night. He was, like 
his friend, quite faultless in respect to morals and behaviour, 
and, like many great geniuses, often very eccentric and absent. 
One of his friends, who partook of the same room, told me, 
that West, when at night composing, would come in a thouglit- 
fnl mood to him at his table, and carefully snuff his candle, 
and then return quite satisfied to his own dim taper, which he 
left unrepaired.' Bryant (letter of reminiscences in Mitford's 
2nd life of Gray). 



160 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

is Mrs Slipslop' &c. 'These light things (I mean such as 
characterise and paint nature surely are as weighty and 
much more useful than your grave discourses upon the 
mind, the passions and what not.'... His 'paradisiacal 
pleasures' he says should be to read 'eternal new romances 
of Marivaux and Crebillon.' Then follows an answer to 
West's criticism on the style of Agrippina, parts of which 
have often been quoted, latterly by Mr Matthew Arnold— 
'the language of the age is never the language of poetry : 
except among the French, whose verse, when the thought 
or image does not support it, differs nothing from prose.' &c. 
He ends by saying ' You need not fear unravelling my 
web. ... I believe my amusements are as little amusing as 
most folks... but... it is better than iv dfiadla /cot dfiova-la 
KarajBiavac' 



37. WEST TO GRAY. 

April [1742] 

To begin with the conchision of your letter, whicli 
is Greek, I desire that you will quarrel no more with 
your manner of passing your time. In my opinion it 
is irreproachable, especially as it produces such ex- 
cellent fruit; and if I, like a saucy bird, must be 
pecking at it, you ought to consider that it is because 
I like it. No una litura I beg you, no unravelling of 
your web, dear sir! only pursue it a little further, 
and then one shall be able to judge of it a little 
better. You know the crisis of a play is in the first 
act; its damnation or salvation wholly rests there. 
But till that first act is over, every body suspends his 



OF R. WEST. 161 

vote; so how do yoii think I can form, as yet, any 
just idea of the speeches in regard to their length or 
shortness? The connexion and symmetry of such 
little parts with one another must naturally escape 
me, as not having the plan of the whole in my head ; 
neither can I decide about the thoughts, whether 
they are wrong or superfluous ; they may have some 
future tendency which I perceive not. The style 
only was free to me, and there I find we are pretty 
nnich of the same sentiment : for you say the affecta- 
tion of imitating Shakspeare may doubtless be carried 
too far: I say as much and no more. For old words 
we know are old gold, provided they are well chosen. 
Whatever Ennius was, I do not consider Shakspeare 
as a dunghill in the least ; on the contrary, he is a 
mine of ancient ore, where all our great modern poets 
have found their advantage. 1 do not know how it 
is, but his old expressions have more energy in them 
tlian (^urs, and are even more adapted to poetry; 
certainly, where they are judiciously and sparingly 
inserted, they add a certain gi'ace to the composition ; 
in the same manner as Poussin gave a beauty to his 
pictures by his knowledge in the ancient proportions : 
but should he, or any other painter, carry the imita- 
tion too far, and neglect that best of models Nature, 
I am afraid it would prove a very flat performance. 
To finish this long criticism : I have this further 
notion about old words revived, (is not this a pretty 
G. 11 



162 CORRESPONDEXCE ETC. 

way of finiyhing?) I think them of excellent use in 
tales ; they add a certain drolleiy to the comic, and 
a romantic gravity to the serious, which are both 
charming in their kind; and this way of charming 
Dryden understood very well. One need only read 
Milton to acknowledge the dignity they give the epic. 
But now comes my opinion that they ought to be 
used in tragedy more sparingly than in most kinds of 
poetry. Tragedy is designed for public representation, 
and what is designed for that should certainly be most 
intelligible. I believe half the audience that come 
to Shakspeare's plays do not understand the half of 
what they hear. — But finissons eniin. — Yet one word 
more. — ^You think the ten or twelve tirst lines the 
best, now I am for the fourteen last ; add, that they 
contain not one word of ancientry. 

I rejoice you found amusement in Joseph Andrews. 
But then I think your conceptions of Paradise a little 
upon the Bergerac. Les Lettres dn Seraphim B. h 
Madame la Cherubinesse de Q. What a piece of 
extravagance would there be ! 

And now you must know that my body continues 
weak and enervate. And for my animal spirits they 
are in perpetual fluctuation : some whole days I have 
no relish, no attention for any thing ; at other times I 
revive, and am capable of writing a long letter, as 
you see; and though I do not write speeches, yet I 
translate them. When you understand what speech. 



OF R. WEST. 163 

you will own that it is a bold and perhaps a dull 
attempt. In three words, it is prose, it is from 
Tacitus, it is of Germanicus. Peruse, perpend, pro- 
nounce. ' 

Gray answers from London, in the same month, that 
' Agrippina is laid to sleep till next summer ', and Mason 
adds that ' he never after awakened her '. He commends 
West's translation of Tacitus and sends him a version of 
Propertius (Works, ed. Gosse, Vol. i. p. 153). 

38. * WEST TO ASHTON. 
Dear Ashton, 

Had I anything instructive or amusing to 
send you you should have it : but as I have neither 
you must excuse me both, but the end of this letter 
is a Petition. If you can find the burlesque imita- 
tion, I left with you of Pope's Verses on his Grotto, I 
sh*^ be greatly obliged to you, to send it me. Vale 
mi Reverendissime* 

EV. 

Tuesday April 15 [1742]. 

i This speech I omit to print, as I have generally avoided 
to publish mere translations either of Mr Gray or his friend, 
[Mason.] 

2 The reference to Pope's Verses, and this form of salu- 
tation, which shows that Ashton is now ordained, combine to 
fix the date of this letter to the time of West's lant illness, 
rather than to that of 1737. It will be seen that on June 3, 
Ashton dates from Downing Street, and he was probably much 
in Walpole's company at this time. 

11—2 



164 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

My compliments to Walpole. I wish he would 
write & comfort the Sick, 'tis a Christian duty. I 
apply it to yrself, Doctour, likewise. 

39. WEST TO GRAY. 

Popes, May 5, 1742 
Without any preface I come to your verses, which 
I read over and over with excessive pleasure, and 
Avhich are at least as good as Propertius. I am only 
sorry you follow the blunders of Broukhusius, all 
whose insertions are nonsense. I have some objec- 
tions to your antiquated words, and am also an enemy 
to Alexandrines ; at least I do not like them in elegy. 
But, after all, I admire your translation so extremely, 
that I cannot help repeating I long to show you some 
little errors you are fallen into by following Brouk- 
husius. ***** Were 1 with you now, and Propertius 
with your verses lay upon the table between us, 1 
could discuss this point in a moment ; but there is 
nothing so tiresome as spinning o\it a criticism in a 
letter ; doubts arise, and explanations follow, till there 
swells out at least a volume of undigested observations; 
and all because you are not with him whom you want 
to convince. Read only the letters between Pope 
and Cromwell in proof of this ; they dispute without 
end. Are you aware now that I have an interest all 
this while in banishing criticism from our correspond- 
ence? Indeed I have; for I am going to write down 



OF R. WEST. 165 

a little ode (if it deserves the name) for your perusal, 
which I am afraid will hardly stand that test. Never- 
theless I leave you at your full liberty; so here it 
follows. 

Dear Grayi that still within my Heart 

Possessest far the better part! 

What mean these sudden Blasts, that rise, 

And drive the Zephyrs from the Skies? 

The Winter yet is scarcely gone, 

And Summer comes but slowly on. 

Oh, fairest Month of all the year! 
In whom the Graces still appear 
Awake, & raise thy drowsy head 
From off the soft ambrosial Bed : 
Where, underneath your bower reclined 
You hear not the least breath of Wind. 

Awake in all your Glory dress'd 
Kecall the Zephyrs from the West 
Restore the Sun, revive the Skies! 
Awake, sweet Month, arise, arise ! 
Great Nature's self upbraids your Stay 
And misses her accustom'd May. 

See, all around demands your Aid, 
The Labours of Pomona fade ; 
The Trees their daily Plaints renew, 
And dyeing Flowers exclaim on You. 
No more the Birds their ditties sing: 
With Storms alone our Forests ring. 

Come then, but haste thee, gentle May! 
No slumb'ring now, nor dull Delay. 

^ Modestly written 'Dear ' by Gray in Pembroke ms. 



166 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

Oh, come with that enchanting Face 
That lively Look, that youthful Grace! 
Come, & diffuse thy Spirit round, 
Till Joy and Plenty do abound 
That all Things may partake a Part, 
And Heaven & Earth be glad at Heart.' 

Gray replies (London, May 8, 1742) : ' I rejoice to see 
you putting up your prayers to the May.' and then pro- 
ceeds to some appreciative criticism. — With respect to his 
own translation of Propertius he says ' I never saw 
Broukhusius in my life.... You see, by what I sent you 
that I converse with none but the dead ; they are my old 
friends, and almost make me long to be with them'; an 
expression which anticipates Southey's 'My days among 
the dead are passed.' He sends West a quotation from 
Anacreon ; and the lines 

Sigilla in mento impressa Amoris digitulo 
Vestigio demonstrant mollitudinem 

challenging West to guess whence they come. 

40. WEST TO GRAY. 

Popes, May 11, 1742 

Your fragment is in Aulus Gellius'; and both it 
and your Greek delicious. But why are you thus 

^ This poem, as printed by Mason, differs considerably 
from the text given above, which is copied from Gray's 
transcript in Pemb. mss. 

2 Mitford has a note to say that this is wrong, and that 
it is in Mori Marcellus, of course a simple misprint (caused 
probably by Mitford's minute writing) for Nonius Marcellus: 
Mitford adds that the passage is quoted by Marcellus s.v. 
'Mollitudo'. 



OF R. WEST. 167 

melancholy? I am so sovry for it, that you see I 
cannot forbear wTiting again the very first opportunity ; 
tho\igh I have little to say, except to expostulate with 
you about it. I find you converse much with the 
dead, and I do not blame you for that; I converse 
with them too, though not indeed with the Greek. 
But I must condemn you for your longing to be with 
them. What, are there no joys among the living? 
I could almost cry out with Catullus' "Alphene im- 
memor, atque unanimis false sodalibus!" But to 
turn an accusation thus upon another, is ungenerous ; 
so I will take my leave of you for the present with a 
"Vale, et vive paullisper cum vivis." 

* From Catullus. - 

Lesbia, let us (while we may) 
Live, and love the Time awaj', 
And never mind what old Folks say. 
Suns can set, & rise as bright: 
No rise attends our little Light. 
We set in everlasting Night. 

Count me a thousand kisses o'er, 
Count me a thousand kisses more 
Count me a thousand still, & then 
We'll count them o'er & o'er again. 
Why should I count? why should I know 
How many kisses you bestow? 
'Tis better let the Reckoning fall. 
We'll kiss and never count at all, 

1 Cat. XXX. 1. '■ Vo. v. 



168 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

And thus we may avoid much Hate ; 
Since none can envy at our State; 
When none shall know our total Bliss, 
How often tt how much we kiss. 

Quffiris quot mihi basiationes?i &c. 

You ask how often you must kiss 

To make me up my Sum of Bliss, 

As many heaps of Lybian sand, 

As lie upon Cyrene's Strand, 

From Amnion's Shrine the whole Extent 

On to old Battus' Monument; 

Or as many Stars as spy 

From their Watch-Tower in the Sky 

The lawless Thefts of Soft Delight 

That pass beneath the Silent Night: 

So many Kisses you must kiss 

To make me up my Sum of Bliss. 

And when the Sum so great is grown, 

That ne'er its number can be known : 

The curious then their Tale will cease, 

And Envy's tongue repose in Peace. 

Fav: Wrote, May 11, 1742. 

He died, the first of June following. - 

Gray's last extant letter to West bears the date 
London, May 27, 1742. West has taken him too seriously. 
' Mine is a white Melancholy, or rather Leucocholy for the 
most part., .a good easy sort of state.'...' The May seems 
to have come since your invatation' (let. 39) 'and I propose 
to bask in her beams.' He reminds him of a contemponiry 
at Eton who is now a husband and father, and of states- 
men whom they remember as 'dirty boys playing at 

' Cat. VII. 

- [Gray's note in Pembroke Common-place Books.] 



OF R. WEST. 160 

cricket'; sends him a Greek inscription for a wood, and 
(with a long explanation) the Latin poem ' Sophonisba 
Massinissae.' It is one of the brightest of Gray's letters, 
with no shadow on it of the impending calamity. It was 
the last of his that West ever saw, the next was from 
Stoke with the ode on Spring; thus the first of Gray's 
and the last of West's original efforts in English verse 
were on the same theme. In the Pembroke Common 
Place Book, Gray calls his poem 'Noon-tide, an ode'; to it 
he has appended the note "at Stoke, the beginning of 
June 1 742 sent to Fav : not knowing he was then Dead." 



41. *ASHTON TO WEST. 

My dearest West, 

The melancliol)' acct of your Health, is an 
inexpressible concern to me, & I shall wait with an 
impatient expectation of yr Recovery & rejoice sin- 
cerely in every little accession to your Strength. 
But keep up your Spirits whatever you do. You 
have Youth and the Season of the year on yr side, 
1 pray God to supply you with Strength, and bless 
you with a perfect Vigour of body & Mind. M'' 
Walpole sympathizes with you. As soon as you can 
use your Hand let us hear from you. Nobody can 
wish you better than we do. 

Yrs 

very sincerely 

Thos. Ashton. 

Downing Street 
June 8. 1742. 



170 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. 

When this was written West had ah-eady been dead 
two days. Gray's letter, written on the impulse of this 
sudden grief, and the verses by Ashton to which he there 
refers, may fitly close this strange and rather sad little 
history. 



42. * GRAY TO ASHTON. 

My dear Ashton, 

This melancholy day is the first that I have 
had any notice of my Loss in poor West, and that 
only by so unexpected a Means as some verses pub- 
lished in a Newspaper (they are fine & true & I 
believe may be your own.) I had indeed some reason 
to suspect it some days since from recieving a letter 
of my own to him sent back unopen'd. The stupid 
People had put it no Cover, nor thought it worth 
while to write one Line to inform me of the reason, 
tho' by knowing how to direct, they must imagine I 
was his friend. I am a fool indeed to be surprizd at 
meeting with Brutishness or want of Thought among 
Mankind; what I would desire is, that you would 
have the goodness to tell me, what you know of his 
death, more particularly as soon as you have any 
Leisure; — my own Sorrow does not make me in- 
sensible to your new Happiness', which I heartily 

^ What this was, I do not know for certain, but it probably 
has to do with some piece of preferment, consequent on 
Ashton's ordination. It is stated in Aluiniti KtoiienseK that 
he was presented to the living of Aldingham in Lancashire, 



OF E. WEST. 171 

congratulate you upon, as the means of Quiet, and 
Independence, & the Power of expressing yr benevo- 
lence to those you love, neither my Misfortune, nor 
my joy shall detain y(ju longer at a time, when 
doubtless you are a good deal emploj^d ; only believe 

me sincerely yours 

T. Gray. 

P.S. Pray do not forget my impatience, especially 
if you do not happen to be in London. I have no 
one to enquire of but yourself, 'tis now three weeks, 
that I have been in the Country, but shall return to 
Town in 2 days. 

June 17 Stoke, 1742. 

While surfeited with Life each hoary knave 

Grows here immortal, & eludes the Grave : 

Thy virtues prematurely met their Fate, 

Cramp'd in the Limits of too short a Date. 

Thy Mind not exercised so oft in vain 

In Health was gentle, & composed in Pain : 

Successive Tryal still refined thy Soul, 

And plastic Patience perfected the Wliole. 

A friendly Aspect not inform'd by Art, 

An Eye that look'd the Meaning of thy Heart, 

A Tongue with simple Truth & Freedom fraught, 

The Faithful Index of thy honest Thought. 

which he resigned in 1749; but the date of this iDresentation is 
not given. The ' happiness ' was probably nothing matri- 
monial; an engagement, later, which promised him £12,000, 
was, according to Gray, broken off in 1746 (Works ed. Gosse, 
ii. 144), and he married Miss Amyand, on the 10th of December, 
1760. 



172 CORRESPONDENCE ETC. OF R. WEST. 

Thy pen disdain'd to seek the servile Ways 

of partial Censure and more partial Praise. 

Thro' every Tongue it flow'd in nervous Ease 

With Sense to polish, & with Wit to please, 

No lurking Venom from thy Pencil fell ; 

Thine was the kindest Satyr, liveing well: 

The Vain, the Loose, the Base, might blush to see 

In what Thou wert, what they themselves should be. 

Let me not charge on Providence a Crime, 

Who suatch'd thee blooming to a better clime 

To raise those Virtues to a higher Sphere 

Virtues which only could have starved thee here. 

ASHTON^ 

[From Gray's ms. at Pembroke.] 

1 Mitford, Life of Gray, Aldine ed. vol. 1 p. xvi has the 
note "There is in the European Magazine for Jan. 1788 p. 45 
a poem said to be written by West, called 'Damon to Philomel', 
and a copy of Verses on his death, supposed to be written by 
his uncle Judge Burnet." On turning out this reference, I find 
that the poem " Damon to Philomel" is by Mr West "who died 
Lord Chancellor of Ireland, Dec. 3, 1726"; i.e. by West's 
father, and the verses on the death of the younger West are no 
other than those above given, known to be by Ashton. 



SECTION III. 

GRAY TO JOHN CHUTE. 

[LETTERS PUBLISHED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 
MR CHUTE'S HISTORY OF THE VYNE.] 



SECTION III. 
GRAY TO JOHN CHUTE. 

Thk following account of John Ohute is compiled from 
Mr Chaloner Chute's History of the Vyne. He was born 
Dec. 30, 1701, and was thus nearly 15 years older than 
Gray. He was educated at Eton, when Dr Godolphin 
was Provost. From the death of his father (Edward 
Chute) in 1722, until that of his elder brother Anthony 
in 1754, he lived principally abroad, spending much of 
his time in Florence at Casa Ambrosio, the house of 
Horace Mann, the British Resident. It was here that 
he made the acquaintance of Gray and Walpole in 1740. 

When Gray parted company with AValpole at Reggio, 
in the spring of 1741, he consoled himself with the com- 
panionship of John Chute and his young relative, Francis 
Thistlethwayte, of Southwick Park, Hampshire, who had 
recently taken the name of Whithed under his uncle's will. 
These three spent the festival of Ascensiontide 1741, in 
Venice together, after which Gray returned to England. 

John Chute, who never married, died May 26, 1776, 
at the Vyne, and was buried in the Parish Church of 
Sherborne St John. (For an account of his correspondence 
with Walpole, see Mr Chute's Ilist. of the Vyne, chap, v.) 
He built the Tomb Chamber adjacent to the Chapel of the 
Vyne and placed in it the beautiful recumbent figure of his 
ancestor Chaloner Chute (Speaker of the House of Com- 
mons under Richard Cromwell) — one of the best works 
of the sculptor Thomas Banks. He was a man of taste 



176 GRAY TO JOHN CHUTE. 

and culture, — there is a quiet and graceful pleasantry in 
his recorded bons mots. See further, Walpole, S/iort 
Notes, &c.. Letters i. p. Ixvii (ed. Cunningham). 

The following was obviously written just after Gray's 
I'eturn from the Continent. 

1. TO MR CHUTE. 

[Sep. 7, 1741.] 

My dear S'' 

I complain no more. You have not forgot me. 
IVP^ Dick, to whom I resorted for a Dish of Coffee, 
instead — thereof produced unto me from her Breast 
your kind Letter, big with another no less kind from 
our poor mangled Friend' to whom I now address 
myself (you do'nt take it ill) & let him know, that as 
soon as I got hither, I took wing for the Strand to 
see a certain Acquaintance of his (for I then knew 
not whether he were dead, or alive) & get some News 
of him. I was so struck with the great resemblance 
between them, that it made me cry out . he is a true 
Eagle, but a little tamer, & a little fatter than the 
Eagle Resident : I told him so, but he did not seem 
to think it so great a Compliment as I did. his Wife 
had miscarried but was quite well again ; his house 
half pulled down, but riseing again more magnificent 

1 Gray soon after his arrival visited Galfridus, twin brother 
of Horace Mann, in Loudon. Mann was at this time much 
tried by illness, which he bore most patiently. (Mr Chute, 
Hist, of the Vyite, p. 86.) 



GRAY TO JOHN CHUTE. 177 

from it's Euins. lie received me, as became a Bird 
of his Race, & suifer'd himself to be caressed with- 
out giveing me one Peck, or Scratch, the only bad 
thing I know of him, is, that he wears a Frock, & 
a Bobb-Wigg. may I charge you, my dear M"' Chute 
(I give you your great Name for want of a little tiny 
one) with my Compliments to D'' Cocchi', Benevoli 
(tho I hate him) and their Patient, particularly to 
this last for recovering so soon, & so much to my 
Satisfaction. I think one may call him dear Creature, 
& be fond in Security under the Sanction of your 
Cover. I carried his Mus^ Flor? to Commissioner 
Haddock, who is Liddel's uncle, that Gentleman had 
left Paris, haveing been elected for some place in 
this Parliament, & (tho' it is like to be controverted) 
took the opportunity to return to England for a time, 
but is now gone, I think to Spaw. Adieu ! M*^ M: 

Nunc ad te totum me converto, suavissime Chuti ! 
whom I wrote to from Dover, if this be London, Lord 
send me to Constantinople, either I, or it are ex- 
tremely odd. the Boys laugh at the depth of my 
Ruffles, the immensity of my Bagg, & and the length 
of my Sword. I am as an Alien in my native land, 
yea ! I am as an owl among the small birds, it rains, 

1 Mann's Physician. Also an Author. Described in a 
letter from the Earl of Cork to Mr Duncombe, Nov. 29, 1754, 
as ' a man of most extensive learning ; understands, reads and 
speaks all the European languages.' [Wright.] 

G. 12 



178 GRAY TO JOHN CHUTE. 

everybody is discontented, and so am I. you can't 
imagine how mortifieing it is to fall into the hands of 
an English Barber. Lord ! how you or Polleri would 
storm in such a Case, do'nt think of comeing hither 
without Lavaur, or something equivalent to him (not 
an elephant)\ the Natives are alive, & flourishing, 
the fashion is a grey frock with round Sleeves, Bob- 
Wig, or a Spencer, plain Hat with enormous Brims, & 
shallow Crown, cock'd as bluff, as possible, Muslin- 
Neckcloth twisted round, rumpled, and tuck'd into 
the breast ; all this with a certain Sa-faring Air, as 
if they were just come back from Cartagena", if my 
pockets had any thing in them, I should be afraid of 
every body I met. look in their face, they knock 
you down ; speak to them, they bite off your Nose. I 
am no longer ashamed in publick, but extremely 
afraid, if ever they catch me among'em, I give them 
leave to eat me. so much for Dress, as to Politicks, 
every body is extremely angry with all that has been, 

1 Vide the anecdotes of Lord William Poulet (xxxv, of 
'Walpoliana' vol. 1, p. 17). 'A gentleman writing to desire 
a fine horse he had, offered him any equivalent. Lord William 
replied that the horse was at his service, but he did not know 
what to do with an elephant.'' 

^ i.e. from the disastrous expedition to that place under 
Vernon and Wentworth. The assault of Cartagena was aban- 
doned on the 24th of April, 1741. The best account of this 
sad affair is to be found in Smollett's Roderick Random. 
Smollett was surgeon's mate on board one of Admii'al Vernon's 
ships. 



GRAY TO JOHN CHUTE. 179 

or shall be done : even a Victory at this time would 
be look'd upon as a wicked attempt to please the 
Nation, the Theatres open not till to morrow, so 
you will excuse my giveing no account of them to- 
night, now I have been at home, & seen how things 
go there, would I were with you again, that the 
Remainder of my Dream might at least be agreeable. 
as it is, my prospect can not well be more unpleasing ; 
but why do I trouble your Goodnature with such 
considerations ? be assured, that when I am happy (if 
that can ever be) your Esteem will greatly add to 
that happiness, & when most the contrary, will always 
alleviate, what I suffer, many, many thanks for 
your kindness ; for your travels, for your News, for 
all the trouble I have given, & must give you. omit 
nothing, when you write, for things that were q\iite 
indifferent to me at Florence, at this distance be- 
come interesting, humble Service to Polleri ; obliged 
for his harmonious Salutation, I hope to see some 
Scratches with his black Claw in your next. Adieu ! 

I am most sincerely, and ever Yours 

TG: 

London — Sept: 7: 0: S: 
P.S. Nobody is come from Paris yet. 

A Mons^ 
Monsieur Chute, Gentilhomme Anglois chez 
Monsf Ubaldini nel Corso de' Tintori h 

Florence. 

12—2 



180 GRAY TO JOHN CHUTE. 

The foregoing is the earliest of Gray's letters to 
Chute ; and for the convenience of those who would read 
this correspondence in its proper sequence, I will here give 
the dates of those letters which are already published in 
Mr Gosse's edition of Gray's Works, as they are determined 
by internal evidence, or by comparison with the letters of 
Walpole about the same time : 



let. Liv 


May 24, 1742. 


let. Lii 


July, 1742. 


let. Lv 


Oct. 25, 1743. 


let. Lxxv 


Oct. 1746 (early in the month) 


let. Lxxvi 


Oct. 12, Sunday, 1746. 



It is scarcely necessary to explain the steps by which 
this arrangement is arrived at; for if the letters are 
taken in this order, it will justify itself. The two 
letters of October 1746 are addressed to Chute upon his 
return with Mr Whithed to England ; what follows 
(probably in the same, or early in the next month) 
expresses the same impatience on Gray's part to embrace 
his friends. To what has been said of Mr Whithed already 
we may add the following from Gray's first letter of Oct. 
'46, with Mr Chaloner Chute's note thereon. 

' I readily set Mr Whithed free from all imputation ; 
he is a fine young personage in a coat all over spangles, 
just come over from the tour of Eui'ope to take possession 
and be married, and consequently ca'nt be supposed to 
think of anything or remember any body.' 

[' A portrait of Francis Whithed at the Vyne by Rosalba 
shows him much as this letter describes him, " a fine young 
personage in a coat all over spangles." The picture is matched 
by a portrait, also by Eosalba, of Margaret, daughter and 
heiress of John Nichol, of Southgate, Middlesex, the lady here 
alluded to, to whom he was engaged to be married. But 



GRAY TO JOHN CHUTE. 181 

Whithed died at the Vyne in March 1751, and Margaret 
Nichol eventually married James Brydges, Marquis of Car- 
narvon, afterwards 3rd Duke of Chandos.'] 



2. TO MR CHUTE. 
Cambridge, Sunday [October? 1746]. 

Lustrissimo 

It is doubtless liiglily I'easonable that 
two young foreigners come into so distant a country 
to acquaint themselves with strange things, should 
liave some time allowed them to take a view of the 
King (God bless him) and the ministry & the 
theatres, and Westminster Abbey and the Lyons and 
such other curiosities of the capital city. You civilly 
call them dissipations, but to me they appear em- 
ployments of a very serious nature, as they enlarge 
the mind, give a just insight into the nature & genius 
of a people, keep the Spirits in an agreeable agita- 
tion, and (like, the true artificial spirit of lavender) 
amazingly fortify and corroborate the whole nervous 
system : but as all things sooner or later must pass 
away, and there is a certain period when by the rules 
of proportion one is to grow weary of everything, I 
may hope at length a season will arrive when you will 
be tired of forgetting me. 'Tis true you have a long 
journey to make first, a vast series of sights to pass 
through — let me see, you are at Lady Brown's 



182 GRAY TO JOHN CHUTE. 

already; I have set a time when I may say 'Oh he is 
now got to the waxwork in Fleet Street; there is 
nothing more but Cupids Paradise and the Her- 
maphrodite from Guinea & the original Basilisk 
dragon & the buffalo from Babylon & the new 
Chimpanzee & then I. have a care, you had best, 
that I come in my Turn ; you know in whose Hands 
I have deposited my little Interests. I shall infallibly 
appeal to my best invisible Friend in the country. 

I am glad Castalio has justified himself »&; me to 
You. he seem'd to me more made for Tenderness 
than Horrour & (I have courage again to insist upon 
it) might make a better Player than any now on the 
Stage. I have not alone received (thank you) but 
almost got thro' Louis Onze'. 'tis very well, me- 

^ The Histoire de Louis Onze of Duclos (Charles Duclos 
Pinot, as M. Auger says we should spell his full name) had 
been censured by au arret da conseil, of the 28th of March 
1745 'comme contenant plusieurs endroits coutraires, non 
seulement aux droits de la couronne sur differentes provinces 
du royaume, mais au respect avec lequel on doit parler de ce 
qui regarde la religion ou les regies des mceurs, et la conduite 
des principaux membi-es de I'eglise.' This decree prohibited 
the reprinting of the work until the offensive passages had 
been removed. Duclos' editor M. Auger (1820) affirms that the 
order was disobeyed. Nevertheless it is perhaps significant 
that an edition of the work in the British Museum, which 
bears date 1745, 6, is printed at the Hague. However this 
may be, in 1750 Duclos, on Voltaire's going to Prussia, 
succeeded him as historiographer of France, on the strength of 
having written the work thus censured five years before. 



GRAY TO JOHN CHUTE. 183 

thinks, but nothing particular, what occasioned his 
expurgation at Paris, I imagine, were certain Strokes 
in Defence of the Galhcan Church & its Liberties — a 
little contempt cast upon the Popes, and something 
here & there on the Conduct of great Princes, there 
are a few Instances of Malice against our Nation, 
that are very foolish. 

My Companion, whom you salute is (much to 
my sorrow) only so now and then. He lives 20 miles 
off at Nurse, and is not so meagre as when you first 
knew him, but of a reasonable Plumposity. He shall 
not fail being here to do the Honours, when you 
make your publick Entry. Heigh ho ! when will that 
be, chi sa? but mi lusigna il dolce sogno! I love 
M'' Whithed and wish him all Happiness. Farewell, 
my dear Sir 

I am, ever yours, 

T. G. 

Commend me kindly to M'' Walpole. 



' Soon after writing these letters Gray joined his friends 
in London, and in a letter to Wharton of Dec. 11, 1746 
says, " I have been in town flaunting about at public 
places with my two Italianized friends.'" [Mr Chaloner 
Chute, Hist, of the Vpie, p. 104.] 



184 GRAY TO JOHN CHUTE. 

3. TO MR CHUTE. 

[1762] 
My Dear S"^ 

I was yesterday told, that Turner (the Professor 
of Modern History here) was dead in London, if it be 
true; I conclude it is now too late to begin asking 
for it : but we had (if you remember) some conversa- 
tion on that Head at Twickenham; & as you have 
probably found some Opportunity to mention it to 
M'' W: since, I would gladly know his Thoughts 
about it. What he can do, he only can tell us : what 
he will do, if he can, is with me no Question, if he 
could find a proper channel ; I certainly might ask it 
with as much, or more Propriety, than any one in 
this Place, if any thing more were done, it should 
be as private as possible; for if the People, who have 
any Sway here, could prevent it, I think they would 
most zealously. I am not sorry for writing you a 
little interested Letter: perhaps it is a Stratagem; 
the only one I had left, to provoke an Answer from 
you, & revive our — Correspondence, shall I call it? 
there are many particulars relating to you, that have 
long interested me more than twenty Matters of this 
Sort, but you have had no Regard for my Curiosity ; 
& yet it is something, that deserves a better Name! 



GRAY TO JOHN CHUTE. 185 

I don't so much as know your Direction, or that 
of M"" Whithed '. Adieu ! I am ever 

Yours 
T Gray. 

To 

John Chute Esq. 



The above letter concerns Gray's ?msuccessful applica- 
tion for the Professorship, which he obtained only in 1768. 
The Professor appointed in 1762 was Mr Brockett of 
Trinity. See Mr Gosse's Life of Gray, pp. 157, 158 and 
infr. Sect. iv. y. n. Also Gray to Wharton, Dec. 4, 1762 
(Works ed. Gosse, lii. p. 136), in a note to which Mason 
states that Gray's name was suggested to Lord Bute by 
Sir Henry Erskine. 

1 It is noteworthy, as indicating how completely this cor- 
respondence had been dropped, that Gray has no suspicion 
that Whithed died more than eleven years ere this date. 



SECTION IV. 



GRAY TO PERCY AND BROCKETT. 



SECTION IV. 
GRAY TO PERCY AND BROCKETT. 

These letters, &c. are iu the Percy Mss. in the British 
Museum [Add. MSS. 32,329]. The note to Brockett is 
followed by a tantalizing fragment (? in the handwriting 
of Percy) "Short minutes of my Conversation with Mr 
Gray, the Poet. 

[Though dated at the time, they were not written till a 
month after, when it was possible for some small parti- 
culars to have escaped my memory, and some trifling 
mistakes to have occiu'red to me.]" 

And then, on the other side of the leaf is nothing but 
the well-known story of the reason 'assigned me by my 
Cambridge friends ' for Gray's leaving Peterhouse — even 
this tale breaking off in the middle. 

In Gray's observations on the Pseudo - Rhythmus 
[Works ed. Gosse, vol. I. p. 371], he mentions having read 
" ' Death and Life in two fitts ' and Scottish Field in a 
MS . Collection belonging to the Rev. Mr Thomas Piercy 
in 1761." 

Perhaps to this year then belongs the note to Percy 
(a). That to Brockett is earlier than (a), and collected, it 
may be, by Percy on his visit to Cambridge, as a r clique. 

Brockett, it is to be noted, is not here Professor ; he did 
not become so until 1762. 

The first edition of Percy's Reliques was published 
in 1765. 



190 GRAY 

(a) M"" Gray presents his compliments to M"" 
Piercy & is very sorry for the mistake he has made, 
concluded that he was lodged at Maudlin, & there- 
fore sent the book this morning to M"" Blakeway's^ 
Chambers, where he imagined M'' Piercy to be. 

The Messenger is a little in liquor, therefore have 
a care of sending him to fetch it. tlie letter* was in 
the book, w*"'' M'' Gray thought was deliver'd to 
M"" P: own hands 

* viz. M"" Evan Evan's Letter. 

(/3) (On a separate piece of paper) 

THE ABBOT OF 3IEUX. 

Look in a Map of the East-riding of Yorkshire, 
& you will see, that at a few miles distance — north of 
Lekenfield lies Watton ; to the South lies Beverley 
(the usual Burying-Place of the Percies); & to the 
S. East the Abbey of Meaux, of which there are still 
some remains visible ; the name is pronounced Meuss. 
(M'' Mason dictates this note) 

M"^ Percy's note therefore is wrong. 

(y) M'' Gray sends his compliments to M^ 
Brocket". Shall be extremely obliged to him, if 

1 " To Mr Blakeway, late fellow of Magdalen College, the 
Editor owes all the assistance received from the Pepysian 
library." Preface to Eeliques of Ancient English Poetry, 1765. 

^ Of Trinity. Tutor to Sir James Lowther ; Professor of 
History at Cambridge, 1762 ; supported the Earl of Sandwich 



TO PERCY AND BROCKETT. 191 

lie would make inquiry (when he has occasion to 
go into Trin: Library) after the following old 
English Books 

Paradise of dainty devices 1578 4'° & 1585 
England's Helicon 4'" 

W. Webbe's Discourse of Eng: Poetrie 1585 4*° 
Fr: Mere's Wit's Commonwealth : 1598 Lond: 

& 1634^ 
Sam: Daniel's Musa, or Defence of Rhyme 1611 ' 

gvo 

Stephen Hawes' Pastime of Pleasure 1555 4'° 
Gawen Douglas' Palace of Honour 1533 London 

1579 Edinb: 
Earl of Surrey's Ecclesiastes 1567 4'° 

2"* & 4*'' Books of the ^neid 

1557 12'"'' 
Gascoign's Works, 2 v: 4'° 1577 & 1587. 
If they should not be in the Library, M"^ Gray 
believes that Professor Torriano" could favour him 
with a sight of some of them for a few days, he will 
take all imaginable care of them. 

in his candidature for the High Stewardship of Cambridge, 
1764. 'On Sunday Brocket died of a fall from his horse, 
drunk, I believe, as some say returning from Hinchinbroke' 
[Lord Sandwich's place in Huntingdonshire]. Gray to Mason, 
Aug. 1, 1768. 

1 The dates here are uncertain, being blotted or stained. 

- C. Torriano was Regius Professor of Hebrew from 175.S 
to 1757. 



SECTION V. 



MISS SPEED TO GRAY. 



G. 13 



SECTION V. 



MISS SPEED TO GRAY. 

Ai,MO.sT all that we know of Miss Speed is to be found 
in the life and letters of (jlray. The incident which led to 
the Long Story is well told by Mr Gosse in his Life of 
Gray, p. 100. In Cole's ms. note to Mason's Edition, 
p. 211 (Mitford, Works of (4ray, Vol. i. Appendix D, p. 
cvii.) we find ' Such was the friendship between the late 
Lord Viscount Cobham & Colonel Speed, Miss Speed's 
father, that upon his decease, he esteemed her as his own 
child ; brought her up in his family, and treated her 
with a paternal care and tenderness.' Gray relates with 
manifest pleasvu'e that she used to say (pcovaura awe- 
To'iai in so many words to those who could not under- 
stand his Odes. Let us add these notices ^ from Gray : 

July 1760 (to Wharton): "I remain... still in town, 
though for these three weeks I have been going into 
Oxfordshire with Madam Speed ; but her affairs, as she 
says, or her vagaries, as I say, have obliged her to alter 
her mind ten time's within that space: no wonder, for 

1 The earliest notice of her is by Pope to Martha Blount. 
Writing from Stowe the seat of Lord Cobham, July 4, 1739 be 
says " Lady Cobham and M" Speed who (except two days) 
have been the sole inhabitants, wish you were here." She was 
then 16 years old. 

13—2 



196 MISS SPEED 

she has got at least £30,000 with a house in town, plate, 
jewels, china and old japan infinite [left her by Lady 
Cobham] so that indeed it would be ridiculous for her to 
know her own mind. I who know mine, do intend to go 
to Cambridge," &c. 

Oct. 21, 1760 (to the same) : " You astonish me in 
wondering, that my Lady C* left me nothing. For my part, 
I wondered to find she had given me £20 for a ring ; as 
much as she gave to several of her own nieces. The world 
said, before her death, that ]\Irs Speed and I had shut 
ourselves up with her in order to make her will, and that 
afterwards we were to be married." 

Jan. 1761 (to the same) : " My old friend Miss Speed 
has done what the world calls a very foolish thing. She 
has married the Baron de la Peyriere, son to the Sardinian 
minister, the Comte de Viry. He is about 28 years old 
(ten years younger than herself) but looks nearer 40... 
The Castle of Viry is in Savoy a few miles from Geneva, 
commanding a fine view of the Lake . . Her religion she 
need not change, but she must never expect to be well 
received at that court till she does ; and I do not think 
she will make quite a Julie in the country." 

March 5, 1766 (to the same) : " Mad. de la Perrifere is 
come over from the Hague to be Ministress at London... 
She is a prodigious fine lady, and a Catholick (though she 
did not expressly own it to me) not fatter than she was : 
she had a cage of foreign birds and a piping bullfinch at 
her elbow, two little dogs on a cushion in her lap, a cockatoo 
on her shoulder, and a strong suspicion of rouge on her 
cheeks. They were all exceeding glad to see me, & I 
them," 



TO GRAY. 197 



MISS SPEED TO CxEAY.i 

Sir, 

I ,1111 as uiuch at a loss to bestow the Com- 
mendation due to your x>erforiiiance as any of our 
modern Poets would be to imitate them ; Everybody 
tliat lias seen it, is charm'd and Lady Cobliam'- was 
the first, tho' not the last that regretted the loss of 
the 400 stanzas^; all that I can say is, that your 
obliging inclination* in sending it has fiilly answerd; 
as it not only gave us amusement the rest of the 
Evening, but always will, on reading it over. Lady 
Cobham and the rest of the Company hope to have 
your's tomorrow at dinner. 

I am your oblig'd & obedient 
Henrietta Jane Speed. 

Sunday. 

The date of the above letter is probalily August, 1750, 
in which month the Lonfj Stnri/ was written. 

' Mitford [Add. mss. 32,.5»)I p. 208]. 

2 Ann, widow of Field-Marshal Richard Temple, Viscount 
Cobham, who died in 1749, daughter of Edmund Halsey Esci. 
of Southwark : she lived at the Old House at Stoke Park. 
[Mitford.] Halsey was the predecessor of Thrale's father in the 
brewery. [Boswell's JoJinsnii, B. Hill's ed. vol. i. p. 491 n.] 

•^ ' Here .500 stanzas are missing.' Lonn Story. I think 
I have transcribed Mitford accurately. 

* She probably means ' intention '. 



198 MISS SPEED 

MISS SPEED TO GRAY. 

25 Aug 5i^. 
My dear Sir, 

I wonder whether you think me capable of all 
the gratitude I really feel for the late marks you 
have given me of your friendship. I will venture to 
say, if yoii knew my Heart you Avould be content 
with it. but knowing my exterior so well as you do, 
you can easily conceive me vain of the Partiality you 
shew me ; in return for putting me in good humour 
with myself, I will give you pleasure by assuring you 
Lady Cobham is surprizingly Avell & most extremely 
obliged to you for the anxiety you expressed on her 
acct. — We now take the air eveiy day, and are returnd 
to our old way of living, & hope we shall go on in 
the same way many years. We are both scandalizd 
at your being in Toun ' at this time of the year, not 
because (as you may think) that it is unfashion- 
able, but because we think it very unwholsouie from 
the heat of the Season. Now I know you are insen- 
sible to heat or cold, not but that your body suffers 
by either extreme, but you have not attention enough 
to yourself to seek a remedy. We beg now to point 
out one against the excessive heat of London, by 
desiring you wou'd come down to Stoke, where you 
will find everything cool but the reception, we shall 

' Sic apparently in Mitfoid. 



TO GRAY. 199 

give you. There is always a Bed aired for you, & 
one for your Serv* indeed I can make use of the 
strongest argument to tempt you, which is that at 
this time it will be a deed of Charity as we are abso- 
lutely alone. jVP^ Clavering and ]M'' Crane the Apo- 
thecary left us yesterday. I don't know Avhether you 
are acquainted with the latter, but 1 have such a 
partiality from his attendance on Lady Cobham that 
1 almost wish for a slight fit of illness, that I may 
have something to do with him — if you are at present 
an invalide, let that prompt you to come, for from 
the affected Creature you knew me, I am nothing 
now but a comfortable nurse. 

You sent me dreadful news in regard to the K. of 
P. ' I now begin to fear for him, it was vastly good 
(jf you to give us a detail of what passes in the 
World, for few people will be at that trouble, indeed 
a Certain Countess with whom I correspond does not 
spare Pains, but such news as she sends is not always 
to be depended on.— I have kept her last letter for 
your entertainment. I am au desespoire ^ about my 
friend L. G. S.' and am sorry from difft. hands to 

1 Book XIX. of Carlyle's Frederick the Great 1759—1760, 
bears the significant heading ' Like to be overwhelmed.' The 
disastrous battle of Kunersdorf had been fought on the 12th of 
August. 

- sic. 

^ Lord George Sackville, who being in command of the 
cavalry at the battle of Minden (Aug. 1, 1759) declined to 



200 MISS SPEED TO GRAY. 

hear that his narrative is about as much in his favour, 
as you seem to think his letter to Col: Fitzroy. — I 
hope to talk all these matters over with you, soon, 
therefore shall add no more at present, but that I am 
with great Truth 

Dear M'' Greys' 
faithfull Serv* 

Henrietta Jane Speed. 

Never make excuses about franks, for I shall 
never grudge the expense you put me to by your 
letters. 

charge, and thus lost the opportunity of entii'ely routing the 
enemy. He was tried by court-martial in the following year, 
and cashiered. See Gray's letter to Brown (vol. iii. let. iii. ed. 
Gosse). In letter iv. ib. he gives him a fuller account of the 
battle ; while in letter v. Sept. 28 to Wharton he says ' The 
night we rejoiced for Boscawen [his victory in the Mediter- 
ranean over the French fleet] in the midst of squibs and 
bonfires arrived Lord G. Sackville. He sees company ; and 
to-day has put out a short address to the Public, saying, he 
expects a Court-Martial (for no one abroad had authority 
to try him) and desires people to suspend their judgement. 
I fear it is a rueful case.' He concludes ' I believe I shall 
go on Monday to Stoke for a time, where Lady Cobham has 
been dying,' — indicating a sudden change for the worse since 
Miss Speed's letter supra. (Gray's next letter is from Stoke 
Oct. 6.) 
1 sic. 



SECTION VL 

GRAY'S NOTES OF TRAVEL. 
FRANCE, ITALY, SCOTLAND. 

(hitherto unpublished.) 

From the Collection of Mr John Morris. 



SECTION VI. 
GRAY'S NOTES OF TRAVEL. 

Mr Gosse (Gray's Works, vol. iv. p. 340) describes the 
following as 'rather dry and impersonal notes of the 
journey in France in 1739,' up to the point where the 
journal printed in vol. I. (pp. 235 — 246) of his edition of 
Gray begins. It will be found, however, that they run 
considerably beyond that point. For instance, both sets 
of notes include Dijon, Chalons sur Saone, Tournus, 
Lyons, Geneva. I believe that Gray kept two records, 
meant to supplement each other. The general character, 
however, of the notes here given, as compared with the 
more or less parallel notes which Mr Gosse has printed, 
bears out his description of them. They are like an 
embryo catalogue or topographical history. It is signiti- 
cant that here he gives an account of Chalons-sur-Saone, 
through which, in the other journal he says he ' went 
without stopping.' 

In the Italian notes, there is not the same parallelism. 
Those here given, headed ' Florence, April 1740i,' are pro- 
bably the earliest ; next come those called by Mitford 
' Criticisms on Architecture and Poetry during a tour in 

1 Mr Gosse [Gray's Works, ii. p. 58] says that Gray's short 
remarks on the pictures which he saw at Florence and other 
places were published in 1843 by Mitford. 1 have not found 
any but the Roman notes, in the Aldine edition, vol. iv. 183(5 ; 
[vol. v. bears date 1843]. 



204 GRAY. 

Italy,' which will he found, however, on examination to 
belong entirely to Eome; and lastly — by far the most 
interesting — those under the heading ' Road to Naples 
June 12.' Even in Italy, however, it is probable that 
Gray kept two sets of papers. It has seemed best not to 
attempt to annotate this part of the work, which, if 
done at all, should be done by some one well acquainted 
with art and ai-chitecture. Accordingly only one or two 
references or explanations are here added. 

Cathedral of Amiens', — Shrine of S* Firmin, of 
massy Gold — rich painted windows. 

Abbey, and ('athedral of S*^ Dennis — Monuments 
of the Kings of Prance — Lewis 12 Francis P', Henry 
2*^, Catharine of Medicis, particularly fine; some good 
Bas-reliefs, rich mosaic windows — the Treasury — 
inestimable antique Vase of oriental Onyx with 
admirable Sculptures representing the mysteries of 
Bacchus — Crown of Cliarlemagne ; Rubies, Emeralds 
& Sapphires of vast bigness — Coronation roljes & other 
Regalia. 

PARIS. 

1. The Palais Royal, built by Card: Richelieu, 
inhabited at present by the Duke of Orleans — a 

1 In a letter to Dorotliy Gray Ajnil 1, 17H9 [ii. p. K), ed. 
Gosse], he says ' the Cathedral is just what that of Canterbmy 
must have been before tlie Reformation.' He is speaking of 
course only of the subordinate decorations ; in a letter to his 
mother architectural distinctions would have been out of iilace. 



NOTES OF TRAVEL, 205 

noble collection of near 500 Pictures of great masters 
— the S* John Baptist of Eaphael — Naked Venus, 
wringing her hair, by Guido — the Leda and Danae of 
Corregio — a whole room of the finest Paid Veronese — 
the 7 Sacraments of Poussin — small copies in Bronze 
of the Toro, Lyon & Horse, &c: — the new Gallery, 
design'd by Mansart, & richly adorn'd with sculpture, 
gilding and furniture of fine embroidery ; painted by 
Coypel with stories from th' Eneid — The Walks 
belonging to the Palace. 

2. The Palace Luxembourg, built by Mary of 
]\ledicis; at present the residence of the 2"* Queen 
Dowager of Spain — the Gallery so well known, of 
Eubens. 

3. The Invalides — the Church, beautiful disposi- 
tion of the Chapels, & Dome; Altar imitated from 
S* Peter's at Rome. 

4. The Val de Grace — tine Chappel; beautiful 
Statues of the Virgin & Joseph by Anguier. 

5. The Hotel de Toulouse — the grand Gallery, 
rich gilding, embroidery, and Glasses, on each side 5 
Capital pictures — the Rape of Helen, by Guido, the 
Sabine Wives separating the two armies by Guercino, 
a Divorce, by P*T° di Cortona. — 

6. Cathedral of Notre Dame — Statues of the 
Virgin with the dead Christ, & those of Louis the 
13*^ & U*'', by the 2 Coutoux, & Coysevox. 

7. Church of the Carmelites — a fine Annuncia- 



206 GRAY. 

tion, of Guido — a Magdalen, of Le Brim. Statue of 
Cardl BeniUe, by Sarazin. 

8. The English Benedictins. Body of K. James 
'2'\ deposed here. 

9. Abbey of >S'' Genevieve — fine Library — ancient 
( 'hurch, Monument of Des Cartes. 

10. Abbey of S^ Germain de Pres. — Library, 
collection of antiquities — the Church sepulchres of 
the Kings of y'' first race — great Altar, a handsome 
piece of architecture. Monument of Casimir, K: of 
Poland. 

IL Church of the Celestines — fine tomb of the 
Const: Monmorency — Monument over y'' Heart of 
Harry 2*^ — & of Charles 9"' — another to the memory 
of Francis 2"^ — Tomb of the D: of Orleans & his wife 
— that of the D: of Longueville. 

12. Church of S* Eustache. Tomb of Mons^ 
Colbert by Coysevox. 

13. Church of >S'* Snljnre, a vast, new building, 
handsome enough. 

14. 7Vie Sorhonne, the admirable tomb of Card: 
Richelieu, by Girardon. 3 figures. 

15. The College de quatre Nations — monument 
& fine statue of C: Mazarin. 

16. The Grand Jesuits — Monument of Silver gilt 
over the heart of Lewis 13: — Chapel & monument of 
H: Prince of Condd with fine Bas-reliefs & Statues by 
Sarrazin in Bronze. 



NOTES OF TRAVEL. 207 

17. Hotel de Mezieres, where the Cardinal 
Polignac resides — a collection of statues — 4 figures 
representing the discovery of Achilles, the bodies and 
drapery Antique, arms & head modern, fine Sarco- 
phagus with a Bacclianal in alto-relievo. Bust of 
Julius Cffisar young, several urns, some of Oriental 
Alabaster, P(^rphiry, Serpentine & Granate. Tables 
of Verde autico, and other precious marbles. Pictures, 
a S* Sebastian's Head, very fine, an Endymion 
sleeping, an Adonis dead ; by Guercino. a Woman 
& a child, Portraits; by Titian, a Virgin's Head, 
by Carlo Dolci View of S' Peter's, by Paolo Pan- 
nini, &c: — 

18. Hotel de My lord Walgrave. — Susannah ^K: 
the Elders, by Guido. Woman taken in Adultery 
by Luca Giordano, the Brazen Serpent, by Sebast: 
Bordone. fine Landscapes, of Claude Lorraine. 

1 9. Hotel de Mons'" Knight, death of Orpheus ; 
& Bacchus with xiriadne, by Pietro di Cortona. 
Landscapes of CI: Lorraine. 

20. Hotel de M"" Hayes. David with the Head 
of Goliah, by Guido, exceeding fine. Lanscapes of 
01: Lorraine, veiy good. 

21. Place royale. a handsome Square, fine 
equestrian Statue of Lewis 13, by Ricciarelli. 

22. Place de Vendome. an Octagon of regular 
buildings, fine Statue of Lewis 14, on horseback by 
Girardon. 



208 GRAY. 

23. Place des Victoires. an oval, but small, 
liuge gilt Statue of 1/. 14'*' with a Victory. 

24. The Chartreux. — the Cloyster, with the life 
of S' Bruuo, by Le Sueur in 24 pictures, admirably 
fine ; figures about a foot high. — Cells of the religious, 
composed of a parlour, a bed-chamber, a library, 
a galleiy, & a garden; very small, but excessively 
neat. 

25. Hotel de Soubise — fine furniture, Tapestry, 
gilding, lustres of rock-Crystal, & embroider'd beds. 

26. Versailles. 

27. 3IarU. 

28. Chantilly. 

29. S* Clou. 

30. aS" Germains. 

31. Trianon. 

DIJON. 

Founded by Aurelian, called Divio, usual residence 
of the Dukes of Burgundy : the Kings used to reside 
at Vienne, or Chalons. Hugues 3'', D. of B : made 
it a City first, in 12*'' Century, bestowed upon a 
younger branch of the Ducal house, holding in fee of 
the Bishops of Langres. Robert, K : of France, 
haveing bought the Bishop's pretensions, bestows it 
on a younger Son of his own ; but the Dukes of B"*^ 
find means to reunite to their other possessions, till 
at the death of Charles le Hardi Lewis 11"' of France 



NOTES OF TRAVEI-. 209 

seizes upon it together with the whole Dutchy. 
Parliament held here. Monuments of the Dukes at 
the Carthusians. 

CHALONS SUE SAONE. 

Anciently Cabillonum, great causeway made by 
-T. Cpesar between this & Bibracte (or Augustodunum) 
now Autun. Counts of Chalons independant of the Df 
of Burgundy. Kings of France passing thro' here are 
invested by the Bishop with the robes of a Canon, 
they bestow the robe on some Ecclesiastic, who from 
thence has a right to the next vacant stall in the 
(Jathedral. Abelard died here in the monastery of 
S* Marcel. 

TOURNUS. 

Trenurchium : an old & rich Abbey here, mth 
two exceeding high spires, dedicated to S*" Philibert ; 
the Abbots were once sovereigns of the town. Mar- 
garet, Widow to Charles d'Anjou, K: of Sicily, built 
here a small palace, where she ended her days, it is 
now an Hospital. 

MASCON. 
Matisco. 

DUTCHY OF BURGUNDY. 

John, K: of France, seized upoii it, & bestow'd it 

on Philip de Valois, his youngest Son, surnamed the 

Bold, this Philip married Margaret, Heiress of 

G. 14 



■210 GRAY. 

Flandere, & Widow of his Predecessour, Philip de 
Rouvr^, who had died without Issue. Philip the 
Bold was regent of France during the Lunacy of 
Charles the G**' his nephew. Jean, Sans peur, suc- 
ceeded Philip, his father, he had Lewis, D : of 
Orleans assassinated, & made himself Regent of 
France, for 12 years, he was murther'd at a con- 
ference with Charles 7* then but Dauphin, at the 
Bridge of Montereau in L'lsle de France. Philip le 
Bon, his Son, succeeded him, & enter'd into an 
alliance with England, after many years of War is 
reconciled to the K: of France, the Low- Countries are 
united in his Person, he founded the Order of the 
Golden-fleece. 

Charles le Hardi succeeded him. he is defeated 
by the Swiss at Morat, & killed in Lorain at the 
battle of Nancy. Lewis 11**" seizes upon Burgundy in 
prejudice to the rights of Mary, Daughter of D : 
(Charles, and Wife to Maximilian, Son to the Emperour 
Frederick. Maximilian consents to a peace with 
Lewis, & gives his daughter Margaret to the Dauphin 
Charles with Burgundy, Artois, &c: for a Dowry. 

LYONNOIS. 

The way between Macon & Lyons runs thro' 
a fine Champain country, with Convents & Villages 
in view ; you pass thro' Villefranche, a small town, 
but the Capital of Beaujolois. 



NOTES OF TRAVEL. 211 



LYONS. 

The distant survey from the streets exceeding 
narrow; the best point of view from the principal bridge 
over the Rhone, where once was a wooden one which 
broke down with an infinite number of people on it, as 
K : Philip Augustus & Richard P* of England had just 
pass'd it in their way to the holy land, this city was 
the Ancient Lugdunum, the first Roman colony was 

in the time of Augustus 
settled there by Munatius Plancus (whose monument 

is extant near Cajeta in Italy) it is situated in the 
Province of the Segusii, Hannibal is supposed to 
have passed the Rhone hereabouts, & enterred (sic) 
Italy by the Country of the Insubri (the Milanese) by 
Chambery & the Vale of Aosta ; here was then a small 
Island formed by the conflux of the Rhone & Saone, 
& a Canal, which is now filled up, & on which a part of 
the city is built, particularly the place des Terreaux. 
the Abbey of Aisnay stands, where was once the 
temple of Augustus ; it was erected to his memory 
by 60 Nations of the Gauls. Drusus is said to have 
consecrated it, the day his Son Claudius was born 
here, the four pillars which support the mid Arch of 
the Abbey-Church, were made out of two, that stood 
at each Angle of the ancient altar ; they appear of 
pure oriental Granite, there are some bas-rehefs & 
inscriptions about the Abbey : it was consecrated in 

14—2 



212 GRAY. 

the 12"' century by Pope Paschal. the famous 
harangue of Claudius upon two brass plates is in the 
Hotel de Ville. it was made to introduce some great 
families of Gallia Lugdunensis into the Senate, in 
Nero's time, when the whole city was burnt, these 
tables were lost, but discover'd in the ruins of Mont 
S* Sebastien in the year 1529. in the place de Ter- 
reaux, Cinq-Mars was executed in Card: Richelieu's 
Ministry, the Place de Bellecourt is magnificent, 
upon the bridge o'er the Rhone, the Enip: Gi'atian 
was murder 'd by Andragatius, General to Maximus. 
the Castle de Pierre-Encise was once the Archbishop's 
palace, but is now a State-prison, on the side of a 
hill near S* George's gate are still to be seen some 
remains of Agrippa's Causeway, it lies 12 foot deep & 
led from Lyons to Narbonne. the other 3 he made 
led, 1 to the Pyrenseans by Auvergne, the 2°^ to the 
Rhine by Strasburg. the third to the Western 
Ocean near Mardyke. near the gate du Trion are 
the ruins of an Aqueduct built by M. Antony to 
carry water to the legions quarter'd on Mount 
Fourviere ; in this Mountain the Taurobolium was 
discover'd. some vestigia of the amphitheatre are 
visible at the Minims ; it was built by Claudius, the 
Jesuits have a cabinet of curiosities, at S'' Irende are 
fragments of a Mosaic pavement ; at la Trinity 
abundance of Roman Epitaphs. a picture of S*^ 
Thomas's unbelief by Salviati, at the Jacobins, the 



NOTES OF TRAVEL. 213 

Lyonnois belonged to the Constable, Charles of 
Bourbon, & on his defection was seized by Louisa of 
Savoy, Mother to Francis 1** who ceded it to the 
King, her son. 

DAUPHIN]£. 
VIENNE. 

Vienna, Capital of tlie Allobroges ; a Colony sent 
liither by the Senate in the year 693, another to 
Colonia Allobrogum (Geneva), and a third to Cularo 
(Grenoble, Gratianopolis). it was the Capital of the 
Burgundian Kings, and comeing to a younger branch 
of that house, they stiled themselves Counts Dauphins 
of the Viennois, Humbert, the last of them made it 
over to Charles, D : of Normandy, Son to King John 
of France on the well-known conditions, here is to 
be seen the old temple, or Pr?etorium. 

GENEVA. 
Anciently Geneva; Genoa in Italy is supposed by 
Livy to be a colony from this Geneva or Genua, or 
Gebennse. it was the frontier town of the Allobroges 
towards Helvetia. 

1. Gallos ab Aquitanis Garumna flumen, a Belgis 
Matrona & Sequana dividit. 

Helvetii reliquos Gallos virtute prrecedunt, quod 
fere quotidianis prreliis cum Germanis contendunt, 

2. Helvetii continentur una ex parte flumine 
Rheno latissimo atq altissimo, qui agrum Helvetium a 



214 GRAY. 

Germanis dividit: alter,! ex parte, inonte lura al- 
tissimo, qu0e est inter Sequanos & Helvetios ; tertia, 
lacu Lemauo, & flumine Rliodano, qui provinciani 
nostram ab Helvetiis dividit. 

3. Santonum fines non \ong6 a Tolosatium finibus 
absimt ; quse civitas est in provinci^. 

4. Ocelum, quod est citerioris provinciae ex- 
tremum. 

5. Segusiani sunt extra provinciani trans Rho- 
danum primi. 

6. Flumen est Arar, quod per fines ^duorum & 
Sequanorum in Rhodanum influit incredibili lenitate, 
ita ut oculis in utrara partem fluit (sic) judicari nou 
possit. 

7. Omnis civitas Helvetia in quatuor pagos 
divisa est; Tigurinum \ Verbigenuni ', 

8. Bibracte, oppidum ^duorum longe maximum 
ac copiosissimum. 

9. Boios petentibus .SIduis, quod egregia virtute 
erant, ut in finibus suis collocarent ', concessit ; 
quibus illi agros dederunt; quosq postea in parem 
juris libertatisq conditionem, atq ipsi erant, receperunt. 

10. Omnium rerum summa erat Helvetiorum 
263,000, Tulingorum 36,000, Latobrigorum 14,000, 

1 Added by Gray to these words of Caesar (De Bell. Gall. 
I. 12). The patjun Tigurimts is mentioned 1. c ; the pagus 
Verbigenus i. 27. The other two Csesar does not name. 

2 Gray writes 'collocassent'. 



NOTES OF TRAVEL. 215 

Rauracorum 22,000, Boiorum 32,000; ex his, (^ui 
arma ferre possent, ad 92,000. eoriini, qui doirmui 
rediex'unt censu habito repertus est immenis 110,000. 
11. Ager Sequanus, qui est optimus totius 
Gallise. 

1. Gallia propria, or the country of the Celtaj, 
was divided from the Belgse by the R: Seine & Marne, 
from the Aquitani, by the Garonne, so that it 
contained of the modern France all Normandy W: 
of the Seine, Bretagne, the Orleanois, Poitou, 
Burgundy, Champagne, Dauphin e, Provence, & 
Languedoc with all the country contained between 
these ; & moreover Switzerland, the Franche-Comt^, 
Alsace, & Lorraine, with most of Savoy, out of this, 
all comprehended between the MediteiTanean on the 
South, the Alpes on the E:, a line drawn along the 
Rhone, under Auvergne as far as the Garonne about 
Toulouse, on the N, & that river & a part of the 
Pyrenees on the W: was the Roman Province of 
Gallia Ulterior. 

2. Helvetii, the Swisses have still their ancient 
bounds ; the Rhine divides 'em from Germany, Mount 
Jura from the Sequani, or Franche-Comtd, & the 
Lake of Geneva, with the Rhone from Savoy &c: they 
still retain too their ancient valour. 

5. Segusiani, supposed the inhabitants of La 
For^z, & Beaujolois. 



216 GRAY. 

FLORENCE. April, 1740. 
Palazzo Pitti. 
A vast Structure begun by a private Man, Messer 
Luca Pitti. his Heirs finding themselves reduced by 
the great Expence he had been at, & themselves 
unable to finish it, sold it to Leonora of Toledo, the 
Wife of Cosimo 1™". it was begun on the designs of 
the famous Ser Brunelleschi, who carried the building 
as high as the 2^ Story of the Grand Front: after- 
wards Bart" Ammanati finish'd it on a Model of his 
own. The Terreno has it's Windows placed at a great 
distance from one another, the next order has 23 
arched Windows in a manner close together with a 
small & low Balustrade running alone before them of 
neither Use nor Ornament, over this is a 3** Story 
smaller of only eleven Windows of the same fashion, 
this whole front is charged all over with Rustick after 
the Tuscan fashion in large Bozzi, & makes an ap- 
pearance grand enough, opening upon a large Piazza 
(tho' this Piazza is neither levell'd, nor paved, it has 
one Gate, which brings you into a Cortile, square, & 
surrounded on 3 Sides by a Loggia, over which run 
the Apartments, this Portico is of the Tuscan order, 
arched ; & both its Columns, & the face of its Arches 
charged all over ^v^th Rustick in the Manner of th' 
Hotel de Luxembourg at Paris, the 2*^ Order is Ionic, 
& its Pilasters have also a Rustick in square Bozzi, 



NOTES OF TRAVEL. 217 

but placed at some distance one from the other, the 
highest Order is Corinthian, & this too has it's Bozzi 
Kound, Hke the lower one, but not close together, 
the whole surmounted by a handsome & rich Intabla- 
ture. the fourth side of the Cortile {which fronts 
you, as you enter) rises no higher than the top of the 
Loggia, in the midst of it is a kind of Grotta, 
containing a large Bason of stagnated Water with 
little leaden figures of Cupids, as it were swimming & 
sporting in it. in a Nich opposite to you is a bad 
Statue of Moses in Porphyry, & the Roof & Walls 
adorned with Rock-work & paintings, in the Court 
even with the front of this Grot are two large Niches 
on each hand, in one a Soldier supporting the body 
of a dead Youth, probably representing the same 
Persons with that Statue near the old Bridge, but in 
a manner much inferiour. in the other Hercules 
lifting Antaeus from the ground, both Antique, of 
indifferent workmanship, & much damaged, over 
this building, which joins the Ends of the Loggia ; & 
even with the 2*^ Story, is a large fountain, & the 
prospect lies open to the garden call'd Boboli. in the 
Testate of the Portico are on one side a Statue of 
Pluto naked with Cerberus by him; on the other a 
Hercules Colossal in the attitude of the Farnese. 
this is Antique & good; inscribed with the name of 
Lysippus counterfeited, under it is the known Bas- 
Relief of the Mule. You go up a Staircase by no 



218 GRAY. 

means answerable to the Greatness of the Palace, 
which bi'ings you into the Sale des Gardes, on 
the left hand is the Apartment of the late Great- 
Prince Ferdinand, in the Salone are many Portraits 
of the house of Medici, a Square in tlie Cieling, but 
done in Oil — 

Virtue presenting a Person to- Jupiter &c — Luca 
Giordano 

Some very large Battle-Pieces, much damaged — 
Borgognone 

Nymphs surprized, & seized on by Satyrs, very 
bad indeed — Rubens. 

Two very large Views of Bays with Gallys re- 
fitting, one is quite spoil'd by Damp; the other 
exquisitely fine, Sun-beams playing on the Water, an 
old Castle with Pine-trees, figures going into the 
Water, a Ship sailing at a distance & loseing itself in 
Air, & Sunshine, admirable ! — — Salvator-Rosa. 

In the other Rooms. 

Christ standing on a kind of Pedestal, the Evan- 
gelists on each side, rather less than life, the Shades 
very black, & but disagreeable in the whole. — — 
II Frate. 

A Madonna, with a figure by her like a Pallas, 
unfinish'd, his worst Drawing — Correggio. 

Annunciation, there is a magnificent piece of 
Building with a View thro' into a Garden, it is a 



NOTES OF TRAVEL. 219 

sort of Loggia, on one side kneels the Virgin, the 
Angel on the other, & two huge Columns between 
them, so that it is impossible they should see each 
other. — P: Veronese. 

The Madonna sitting, on one hand S* Peter 
stands, one arm extended, a veiy noble figure, an air 
of a head like Rafael, Profile, on the other S* Sebas- 
tian, his hands tied behind him, & pierced with 
arrows, naked, & finely painted, on the Ground sit 
Mary Magdalen, & another Male-Saint in changeable 
garments; they both squint extremely, as does the 
principal figure who is a mere dowdy, & the Bambino 
a Monster. S* Bruno & other Saints standing by. 
a peculiar Colouring like Andrea, but better. Large 
II Rosso 

Madonna del Collo lungo. the fault which gives 
name to the Picture immediately strikes the Eye. 
She is sitting, & uncovers the Child who sleeps in her 
Lap to several Angel -like figures, that crowd to see it. 
there is a Groupe of 3 heads inexpressibly fine, one a 
Youth's head in Profile (his whole figure appears, & 
he bears a Vase in his hand) another a face as of a 
Girl (seen full) with blew eyes & hght hair dress'd as 
fine as any antique statue, lovely beyond imagination, 
the other is of a boy, who presses forward between 
these two, his hair curled in Ringlets, & a most 
Natural expression, the Virgin is not handsome, but 
a most majestick Air, the head & dressing of the hair 



220 GRAY. 

in exquisite Taste, her Drapery in little folds, that 
shows the rising & turn of the breast to a wonder, 
it is cracked from top to bottom being on board 
otherwise well preserved, the Bambino is very bad, 
& lies sprawling in a strange manner, a building at 
a distance with a Man displaying a Scrowl. much 
linish'd & big as life — Parmeggiano 

Madonna della Pescia. she sits on a high Tlirone 
under a Canopy, whose Curtains are supported by 
angels flying, on one side stand S: Peter & S:' 

2 boy Angels on the foreground with Notes of 
Musick — extremely fine — Rafael 

Disputation on the Trinity. S' Austin is speaking, 
& addresses to S: Peter Martyr. S'' Laurence in 
his Sacerdotal habit, & S: Francis attending. Mary 
Magdalen, & S: Sebastian sit on the foregTound. it is 
famous, particularly for the degrees of Conviction, 
that appear in the figures suitable to their several 
Characters, finely painted undoubtedly, & perhaps 
the principal work of this Master, from whence he 
got his great Reputation 1 know not, Grace & Beauty 
'tis certain he was an utter Stranger to ; Harmony in 
the Tout-Ensemble he was ignorant of; his Subjects 
are always ill-chosen, & if he colour'd a particular 
figure well, this is by no means sufiicient to put him 
on a rank with the greatest Masters, tlio' even in 

^ So left by Gray. 



NOTES OF TRAVEL. 221 

this he often fails, & there is a siiieariness in his 
shades that makes all his figures appear dirty, it is 
so even here Andrea del Sarto 

S: Mark, sitting in a Nich, a Colossal figure, with 
a book in his hand, a most noble Style, Drapery in 
marvellous folds, vastly great ! — ^ — II Frate ■ — ■ — 

Assumption of the Virgin : Apostles below looking 
into the Sepulchre. She looks like a dirty ordinary 
Grirl, abundance of Boy Angels about her. much 
gaiety of Colours in the several draperies, no har- 
mony - — • Andrea del Sarto 

Another ; much the same, some few figures ex- 
cepted — — Ditto 

S. Andrea Corsini praying : the Virgin above with 
Saints & Angels, she is a most aweful beauty ; 
there is S. Peter almost lost in Glory, the head is 
exactly Guido. the whole finely colour'd with great 

Warmth and Harmony large as life Carlo 

Maratti — — 

Ritratto of Card : Bentivoglio, easy and natural, 
yet perfectly great, the Colouring fine beyond all 
expression Vandike 

Card: Hippolito of Medici, half length, in the 
habit of a Hungarian, very gentile Titian — 

Seven more Portraits, half lengths — some very 
fine Ditto 

Charles the 5''', whole length, standing — the air 
has somewhat low & disagreeable Ditto 



222 GRAY. 

Philip tlie 2**, same size, Young, pale & thin, 
a most unpromiseing countenance Ditto 

A Lady, dress'd in Crimson Satin. Half-length ; 
fat, red-hair'd, & the air of a Cook- Wench, but 

painted to the greatest perfection of Colouring 

Paris Bordone 

Luther (as it is called, tho' undoubtedly not so) 
playing on the Harpsicord. his head turned over his 
Shoulder towards a Man, who stands behind with 
a Lute ; on t'other side a Woman in a black Cap & 
feather, the two latter figures perfectly insignificant, 
but the head of the principal one has a most ex- 
quisite life & Spirit in the eyes, & is admirably 

painted. the Drapery is one great black Spot 

Giorgone — — 

Secretary of Leo the lO**", head & hands, a sort 

of Man, that should not have set for his picture ■ 

something hard Rafael 

The famous Portrait of Leo the 10 with the 
Cardinals Medici & Rossi, as fine as a Portrait can 

possibly be, & excellently preserved ! Ditto 

Pilgrims of Emaus, his dark, sooty 

Manner — 
Apollo, fleaing Marsyas — same Style — 
S. Sebastian, all blister'd & spoil'd — 
A fine Madonna, of Rubens 



Guercino 



NOTES <1F TRAVEL. 228 

ROAD TO NAPLES. June 12. 

Yoli pass thro' the Porta Ccelimontana near S: 
John Lateran, & continue along the road to Albano 
with numberless little ruins of Sepiilchres spread in 
tlie fields all round you, particularly toward the 
right hand, where at a little distance the Via Appia 
i-uns along, they have been all extremely injured b}- 
time, & other means, so that there are but few, whose 
external form remains, some seem to have been 
small Rotundas, raised on a square Base, & ending in 
a Cupola ; others quadrangular buildings with a flat 
roof, & adorn'd with Pilasters ; (unless perhaps these 
last may have been little Sacella) they all are huge 
Masses of Brickwork, whose walls are often many 
Yards in thickness containing one or two appart- 
ments within ; & undoubtedly have been formerly 
incrusted with marble, or Tiburtine Stone, for all 
the ground is cover'd with fragments of it. there 
are every where remains of Aqueducts with 50 or 6( > 
Arches standing entire and uninterrupted togethei- 
in many places, which add a vast deal to the prospect, 
the Campagna of Rome is not alone ill-cultivated', 
but naturally a barren & disagreeable plain, & has 
need of these monuments of antiquity to add a 

1 To Dorothy Gray, Naples, Juue 17, 1740 (ii. 81, eel. 
(iosse) — 'The minute one leaves his Holiness' dominions, 
the face of things begins to change from wide uncultivated 
plains to olive groves and well-tilled fields of corn,' &c. 



224 GRAY. 

Ijeauty to it. one has always in view before one 
the hills at about 14 miles distance or more with the 
towns of Tivoli, Palestrina, & Frescati upon them, & 
a mixture of other little cities, & villages, beyond 
the Torre di Mezzavia one turns to the left out of the 
Alban road towards S. Marino, a large town belong- 
ing to the Colonna family situated on the side of one 
of those hills, that form a sort of natural bason, 
or receptacle for the Alban Lake, in the principal 
Church is a side Altar — 

The Martyrdom of S: Bartholomew, a famous 
picture, the 2 ruffians, who are employ'd about that 
bloody work are greatly in character, & are figures of 
much spirit, for the rest the Saint seems to feel 
nothing of the matter, but all his thoughts are fix'd 
on heaven, this is too tame, for if he suffer'd no- 
thing he was no martyr, & he might have shew'd the 
pains he endured, yet with dignity too : nor is his 
figure very well drawn : there are other people 
present ; large as life ; usual blackness in the Shades — 
Guercino 

There is the Martyrdom of another Saint at the 
upper end, seems also of him ; not good. 

In the Church della Trinitti behind the great 
Altar is 

The Trinity, of a size more than half-life, the 
Father with Sorrow in his countenance, & arms 
spread, supporting on his knees the dead Christ. 



NOTES OF TRAVEL. 225 

some few Cherubs that form a Semicircle over them ; 
no other angels, the same Giac: Freii has graved. 
a fine picture, but much better treated by him 

in the Ch: of the Trinith de' Pellegrini at Rome 

Guido 

Here way' ascends the hills, & continues by a 
very pleasant & shady road along them — with the 
Lake in the Vale below to the right, & C^° Gandolfo 
appearing on the top of the mountains on t'other 
side of it. on the left is the Mons albanus, & the 
Dorsum running along it's side, on which Alba Longa 
was once situated, you continue among the hills, 
which are very green, & well cultivated to Velletri, 
seated on the top of a little mountain with a pretty 
Vale below it, anciently famous for nothing, as 
Sil. Italicus says — Quos incelebri miserunt valle 
Velitrte — upon descending these hills you have a 
most extensive view of the plain to the right, & 
the Marshes (Pomptina Palus) with the Sea beyond, 
& the Circeian Promontory, (that seems a huge 
Mountain, all alone) stretching into it. here turning 
something to the right one continues along the plain 
to Cisterna, a small town, whose inhabitants are 
Vassals of a Neapolitan Prince, of the Gaetano 
Family: he is also Lord of Sermoneta, & Caserta 
with a pretty extensive Territory round about them, 
a little farther we past thro' a large Park of his, 

^ Gray, 'was'. 
G. 15 



226 GRAY. 

one part of which is a noble wild Scene all over- 
run witli huge old Oaks, & Cork- Trees, the Moun- 
tains now begin to thicken, & approach nearer to the 
Sea, so as to leave but a narrow Tract of cultivated 
land between themselves, & the Marshes, one soon 
comes to the foot of a steep hill on whose top stands 
Sermoneta (Sulmo Volscorum) just by it one crosses 
a little stream of sulfureous Water, like the Albula. 
'tis like that of a blewish white, & the Stench intoler- 
able, they call it Aqua Puzza. we past bj' Sezza 
(Setia) of ancient fame for its wines 

— Ipsius mensis seposta Lysi 
Setia— Sil: Ital : 8. 

This is situated much as the last, & as all the 

little cities are hereabouts, on a hill at the foot of 

more lofty mountains, which shelter them on one 

side from the North, & East Winds, while on the 

other they lie open to the breezes from the Sea, 

cK: are exalted above the noxious Vapours, that rise 

from the marshes, which would infect, & render 

uninhabitable Towns in a less elevated Situation, as 

they do all the plains of the Campagna upon a level 

with themselves, the ancients seem to have made 

choice of an exalted Site, whenever they could with 

convenience, & Virgil distinguishes the Cities of 

Italy by this particular. 

Adde tot egiegias urbes, operumq laborem 
Tot congesta manu praeruptis oppida saxis, 
Fluminaq antiques subterlabentia muros, Georg : 2. 



NOTES OF TRAVEL. 227 

One has here the Httle river Ufens creepmg along 
on the right hand among the Fens, & slowly working 
it's way into the sea. 

Qua Satui-ffi jacet atra palus, gelidusq per imas 

Quaefit iter valles, atq in mare conditiir Ufens. Virg: 7. 

pestifera Pontini uligine campi 



Qua SatursB nebulosa palus restagnat, & atro 

Liventes cfeno per squalida turbidus arva 

Cogit aquas Ufens, atq inficit aequora limo. Sihital: 8. 

Somewhat farther is Piperno (Privermim) also 
seated on a high Hill. the Peasants here wear 
a sort of Bnskin, the sole of which is made of a raw 
hide with the hair on, bound about the foot, & half 
way up the Leg with Whipcord. Virgil distinguishes 
the inhabitants when they came to war, by almost a 
similar sort of Chaussure, only that they wore it on 
one foot only — - 

vestigia nuda sinistri 

Instituunt pedis, at crudus tegit altei'a pero. Vii-g: 7. 

haveing past thro' a noble old wood of Ilex's, 
Cork-trees, & Oaks one crosses the River Amaseno 
over a bridge, & keeping obliquely to the right, for 
so the course of the Mountains runs, which begin 
now to grow exceeding lofty, one strikes into the 
Via Appia (which has run strait along thro' the 
middle of the Pomptina palus, & tho' in perfect 
preservation, is useless by reason of the waters, that 
cover it) at a place call'd Torre delle Mole, a few 

15—2 



228 GRAY. 

miles on this side Terracina. 'tis I believe here 
as perfect as anywhere, not alone the midway for 
carriages remains, which is just of a breadth for 
2 carriages to pass, but the raised causeway on each 
side for foot-passengers, the whole of a greyish coarse 
marble, the jjieces of Irregular Shapes generally a 
foot or two, sometimes more in breadth, laid as they 
suit one another best, the side ways are raised 
better than a foot above the middle. Statins gives a 
good description of these immense labours in the 
4*'' Book of his Sylv», 3. 

Hie primus labor inchoare sulco^ 
Et rescindere limites, & alto 
Egestu penitus cavare terras: 
Mox haustas aliter replere fossas, 
Et sumnao gremium parare dorse, 
Ne nutent sola, ne maligna sedes, 
Et pressis dubium cubile saxis; 
Tunc umbonibus hinc et hinc coactis, 
Et crebris iter allegare ^ gomphis. 
quantae pariter manus laborant! 
Hi caedunt nemus, exuuntq montes; 
Hi ferro scopulos, trabesq caedunt; 
lUi saxa ligant, opusq texunt 
Cocto pulvere, sordidoq topho: 
Hi siccant bibulas manu lacunas, 
Et longe fluvios agunt minores. 

There are frequent ruins on each hand of it, not 
only of Sepulchres, but the foundations of larger 
buildings, & arched vaults of brick disposed Particu- 
1 Sic ap. Gray. 



NOTES OF TRAVEL. 229 

latfm. one continues along this way, which goes 
lip several mountains, & thro' deep vallies, still 
running obliquely towards the Sea, till one comes 
to Anxur, or Terracina seated on a fine hill with an 
open view of the Sea — iEquoreis splendidus Anxur 

aquis. Mart : passing by which one goes on along 

the shore between the Sea, & some exceeding lofty 
rocky Cliffs; on the very top of one of 'em are large 
remains of an ancient edifice, here are frequent 
square towers along the Coast built to prevent sudden 
descents of the Moorish Corsairs, but very incon- 
siderable, & ruinous, against the side of one of 
these rocks are cut the 12 Numbers mention 'd by 
Addison in decimal proportion, decreaseing upwards : 
a little further one enters the kingdom of Naples, tlie 
bounds are marked by an Inscription on a large stone 
monument erected in Philip 2'''^ time, one now sees 
several tracts of land, & little Isthmus's stretching 
into the Sea, which enters far in, & forms several 
bays, «&; lakes (as it were) — which, with a mixture of 
woods among them, form a view very agi'eeable to the 
eye. now one turns again to the left leaving the 
shore, & journeying thro' charming Vales to Fondi. 
the hedges abound with the broad-leaved Myrtle, 
Bay, Spanish-Broom, Laurustine & many flowering 
Shrubs I never saw before, one comes round to the 
Sea again very soon at Mola (Formise) most charm- 
ingly situated on the Bay of Gah'ta, the Usual 



230 GRAY. 

Station of his Sicilian Majestie's Gallies. the air 
here is all perfumed with the large plantations of 
ancient Orange-trees about the town; they were at 
this time all cover'd with flowers & ripe fruit at once, 
& the first I had yet seen in Italy, that seem'd to 
gTow kindly in the natural earth, being of great bulk, 
& beauty. The bay was full of Fishing- Vessels ; on 
the right hand lies the Town and Castle of Gaeta in 
full view overlooked by a high hill on which is the 
Monument of Munatius Plancus, like a round tower, 
all alone, 'tis about half a dozen miles fi'om Mola 
cross (sic) the Bay to it. one still follows the Appian 
way, which runs thro' this town, to the banks of the 
River Garigliano: just on this side are pretty large 
ruins of Minturna;, a small aqueduct (if brick entire 
for a good way together, a Theatre, & something like 
a Circus, with many other little remains of building 
scatter'd about quite down to the Sea. one crosses 
this River (the Liris) in a ferry, it retains it's 
former calmness, and clearness, winding slowly thro' a 
charming plain, & full to the very brink, not like the 
generality of Italian rivers, shallow, and turbulent, 
one now leaves the Appian, which goes oft' towards 
the ruins of old Capua, that lay some miles more 
inland, than the new City does, the road now gi-ows 
extremely spatious, like those in Lombardy, &, tho' 
unpaved, is in extremely good condition, haveing been 
repair'd, & in a manner new-made against the arrival 



NOTES OF TRAVEL. 231 

of tlie new Queen, one finds an extraordinary change 
upon leaving the Pope's dominions, the roads grow 
chearful, & frequented, the country cultivated, & the 
towns populous, this part of Italy is indeed a 
miracle of beauty, & fertility, these are the Massic, 
the Calatine, & Falernian fields, ilc indeed nothing 
can go beyond these. What must such a country be 
in the times of liberty, when even under the execrable 
government it has now long been subject to, it can 
flourish in this manner? at Capua one crosses the 
Vulturnus, which runs under it's walls, a shallow 
muddy furious Stream at that time not near filling 
it's Channel : the City is small, but full of people, an 
Archbishoprick, & gives the Title of Prince to a Son 
of the Royal family, the road passes thro' Aversa 
(Atella) a city of the Saracen's foundation, very neat, 
& airy, one enters Naples thro' a very handsome 
Suburb, in which are several Palaces, Churches, & 
publick buildings, large, & grand enough, but com- 
monly of a very ill taste in Architecture, charged 
with abundance of clumsy Ornaments, upon enter- 
ing the grand Street (Strada di Toledo) the infinite 
number of people, & coaches are somewhat amazeing, 
it is with difficulty one passes, & it is one continued 
market from one end to the other for Fruits, flowers, 
& Provisions of all kinds, I believe near a mile in 
length, reaching from the Porta della Spirito S*" to 
the King's Palace; towards the further end it winds 



232 GRAY. 

something, otherwise quite strait, & paved admirably 
well (as are the streets in general) with square Stones 
laid corner-wise, so as to resemble the Opus reticu- 
latum, flat, & of about a foot & | dimensions, the 
houses are of the common people, but lofty (4 Stories 
high) & equal throughout, & the breadth of the 
street proportionable to it's length. 

THE CEBTOSA. 

This Convent one of the richest in Italy enjoys a 

most delicious Air, & Situation, being seated on a 

very lofty hill just above the ancient Castle of S. 

Elmo, from a Portico in it you have a noble prospect 

of the ivJiole City below you, & the Bay in it's whole 

Extent with M: Vesuvius, Surrentum, & all the 

country beyond it as far as the promontory of 

Minerva on the left, & on t'other hand Pausilipo 

stretching out into the Sea, & behind it a part of the 

Bay of Baise, the view being bounded by M: Miseno. 

before you is Capreae (30 Miles distant) appearing as 

a barren Mountain of a vast height divided into 2 

Summits which lyes across the mouth of the Gulf, 

& leaves a Passage on each side of it 

— Insula portum 
Efficit objectu laterum, quibus omnis ab alto 
Frangitur, inq sinus scindit sese unda reductos. 

sucli a vast variety of buildings, mountains, woods & 
water; and that composeing a scene every part of 



NOTES OF TRAVEL. 233 

which is mark'd out in ancient Story for some thing, 
or other remarkable can hardly be any where else 
parallel'd. the fathers are 60 in number, the building 
spatious, being begun by Charles of Anjou, D: of Cala- 
bria, Son of Robert, King of Naples, & perfected, and 
endowed by his Daughter, who succeeded her Grand- 
father by the name of Joan P> the great Cloyster 
is light and airy, it is a Portico supported by three- 
score Columns of white marble, & in the midst, as 
usual, is the common Burying Ground of the Convent 
enclosed by a Balustrade also of marble with Skulls, 
& such suitable decorations carved on it. in the 
Prior's Apartments are some Pictures, which they 
esteem greatly, tho' I saw little considerable there, 
a Crucifix, only a single figure, (of which the old 
Story is told of the Porter) between 2 & 3 foot long. 
Air like that of the Grand Duke, but not colour'd 

like anything else I have seen of him M: Angelo 

Buonaruoti. 

Martyrdom of S: Laurence, a Sketch in Oil for 
that in the Escurial. small figures Titian. 

The Sacresty. 

The whole cieling painted with histories in squares, 
small; & single figures between of a larger size, 
better than ordinary for him; there are some fine 
things Cav: Arpino 

Crucifixion, large as life, in Oil. not good; no 
nature at all Ditto 



234 GRAY. 

Denyal of Christ ; heads and hands, this on the 
contrary is true nature indeed, and excellent in a low 

way, but it is a perfectly Dutch Scene M : Ang'? 

Caravaggio. 

Several others, but not good Luca Cangiari, 

GiacT Puntormo &c. 

The Treasuries. 

a Pietk, large as life, only the Virgin, & S: 
John ; she has a fine expression of Sorrow, but with- 
out beauty, or grace; the other a very mean, & 
ordinary figure : but the dead Christ, who, is thrown 
in a very uncommon attitude upon her knees, is a 
most admirable figure both for drawing & colouring ; 
nothing can be more easy, & it ])erfectly comes 
forward from the Canvass, the finest thing I ever 
saw of him. it cost 4000 Ducats, but the Fathers 
now esteem it at 10,000 Spagnuoletto 

Here are Ornaments for the Altar of amazing 
richness, half-figures of several Saints bigger than 
life, a Statue of the Virgin, great numbers of wrought 
stands, & large vases, all of massy Silver, & a 
(Justodia adorn'd with Sapphires, Emeralds, Topazes, 
& Rubies of a huge size. 

The Church. 

In the Choir behind the Great Altar is the Na- 
tivity, fig: as large as life, the Joseph is the only 
one quite compleat, for he left the picture unfinish'd. 



NOTES OF TRAVEL. 235 

it shews no decay of Geniiis at all, & the heads have 

all that Divine beauty one sees only in his works 

Guido 

The Cnicifixion in the Arch over it in Fresco, verj^ 
large Lanfranco — — 

The whole Vault of the Church in 3 vast Com- 
partments, the Figures, that serve for Ornaments, & 
the 12 Apostles above the Cornice are all in general 
of the same Master, an immense Work, yet there are 
several others of him in Naples at least as consider- 
able, as this, if you come to particular parts, there is 
no great grace, or expression, neither is the Drawing 
always correct ; but in the whole a Greatness in the 
execution, a perfect Mastery in the management of 
his colours, & a great harmony, that strikes the eye 
all at once, a certain Furia in his Airs, & the Dra- 
peries always noble & simple, his works here are well 
preserved, & bright as if but just done 

THE ENVIRONS OF NAPLES. June IG, N: S: 1740. 

M. Pam'tlypo lies on the right side of the city, 
it is a long Dorsum, or Promont(jry, that runs out a 
good way into the Sea; of a considerable height, 
cover'd with little woods, & Villa's with Vineyards 
intermix'd. the Chiaia runs along from Naples 
almost as far as the side of this Mountain, thro' the 
bowels of which is cut the famous Grotta. one passes 



236 GRAY. 

for some little space along a passage also pierced 
through the solid rock, but this is carried quite thro' 
to the top, & open to the Air, till one comes to the 
mouth of the Cave, which is a tall Arch better than 
50 (?) ' Foot in height, & of a breadth sufficient 
for 3 Carriages at least to enter abreast, these 
latter dimensions are continued quite through it, 
but the height greatly decreases, till a little beyond 
the middle, where it appears not i of what it was at 
first; it then rises again till at''^ the mouth next 
Puzzuoli, 'tis almost as great as before, the top is 
form'd into an arch the whole way, & makes a solemn 
appearance, like some long vaulted Isle of a Gothick 
Church, upon entering it, as the light falls chiefly 
upon the two ends, & one has in view the Outlet at 
the opposite end, the eye is much deceived in it's 
length, which seems not above 100 Yards, tho' in 
reality near half a mile, there are 2 square passages 
over each entrance at a great height, that run ob- 
liquely thro' the rock, & open into the vault contrived 
to throw the light still a little further in, & admit 
more air. in a fine day one sees very well, till 
near the middle, where it grows somewhat dark, & 
carriages that meet are obliged to warn one another 
by crying out Alia marina, or Alia montagna. about 

1 The margin here renders the number doubtful. 
" The margin here causes difficulty on both sides, but this 
is doubtless the reading. 



NOTES OF TRAVEL. 237 

the midst of it in a small cave cut into the rock-side 
is a small chappel of the Madonna with lamps burning 
continually, tended by a Hermit. Alphonso the 1^* 
enlarged the Grotta, & in Charles 5* time D: Peter of 
Toledo, the Viceroy paved it, & made an excellent 
road, which still continues : as large Inscriptions near 
it testify, when it was first made is uncertain ; some 
people name one Cocceius, as the author of it; but 
these are of no authority, it is likely to have been 
done in the earlier days of Rome, as it appears more 
design'd for convenience than ostentation, for it seems 
to have been but a disagreeable passage in Seneca's 
time, & the aforemention'd king gave it it's present 
loftiness, haveing passed the Grot one comes into 
a most beautiful country, consisting of fertile hills 
cover'd with Vines, & Figs; or else Corn with rows 
of elms, eS: their Vines running up them, & hanging 
in Festoons from one to the other, one turns a little 
to the right of the Pozzuoli-Road, & ascending for 
some time between the rocks one comes to the top of 
a hill, from whence the Lake of Agnano discovers 
itself with its charming borders surrounded with 
mountains of a moderate height all cultivated & 
planted to the top. Upon descending into the Vale 
even at a distance the sulphureous Steams that rise 
from the Lake & the Ground about it are easily per- 
ceived, at the time I saw it, the way thither for ^ of 
a Mile at least, & the whole country about the lake 



238 GRAY. 

was cover'd with an intinite swarm of very small 
frogs, there was no stepping without treading upon 
them, the Country people said it was common, & 
that they fell in the Rain ; but it had not rain'd that 
day, nor for several before it. on the right side of 
the Lake under the rocks is the (Irotta del Cane, 
they have closed up the mouth of it with a door, that 
locks; it is very small & low not above 5 foot & ^- 
high at the entrance, & does not extend above 3 yards 
into the rock growing still lower & lower, we made 
the usual experiment with a middle-sized Cur-Dog, 
that had frequently before undergone the same 
operation: the Man held his 4 legs, & laid him on 
the earth on his side with his head close to the 
ground, he struggled nuich, & began t(5 pant in a 
few Moments, in 3 Minutes fell into Con\ailsions, 
his strength soon left him, & he lay without motion 
of his limbs, only fetching his breath shorter & 
shorter, we took him out, & laid him on the Grass, 
& in about 5 Minutes he was quite recover'd, whine- 
ing, & seeming to rejoice, that he was restored to life, 
several of the little frogs were put in, who hop'd 
about a little, but stretch'd themselves out, & died 
in less than half a minute, the torches went out 
immediately being dip'd in the Vapour, which is 
not visible, but the experiments proved it did not 
rise more than ^ a foot above the ground, one may 
enter the cave without hurt; there is a sensible 



NOTES OF TRAVEL. 239 

warmth in it, as in all the rocks hereabouts, & the 
ground & sides are moist, the Lake is very agreeable 
to the eye, almost round, & about a mile in compass ; 
it has much fish in it (Tench & Eels) but more frogs, 
near the margin in some places it boils very strongly, 
yet there is no perceptible heat in the water, a 
little distance from the Cave is a building with 
several little appartments call'd I Sudatorii di S: 
Germano. in the innermost of them the Vapour that 
rises is so violent as to piit anybody into a strong 
Sweat in some few Minutes, this is a visible smoke 
issuing out continually, & the Smell of Sulphur is 
extreraelj^ offensive, these places are used with 
success in several distempers, particularly the Pox, & 
the Itch, some say the Gout too. continuing along 
the side of the Lake to the left one ascends again to 
the top of a mountain, & thro' a narrow passage 
comes into a large hollow, or plain of better than a 
mile in compass surrounded with high Cliffs of a 
naked dismal appearance, with a little thin herbage 
scatter'd here & there the tallest of these towards one 
end of the plain from several parts send forth a thick 
white Smoke & that up to their very top. about the 
roots of them, and in 3 or 4 places of the plain are 
certain small cavities in the ga-ound, from whence 
rises the same Vapour, but more strongly ; on throw- 
ing a large stone against the ground it returns a deaf 
report, that shews all beneath is hollow, over several 



240 GRAY. 

of the smaller Vents they pile up broken Potsherds, 
about which a Crust of Sal Armoniac' gathers in a 
short time, in this part of the Solfatara the heat is 
very sensible to one's hand upon touching the earth ; 
the other end of it seems in comparison to have but 
little of these warm springs & minerals ; plants grow 
there pretty thick: liere they have built up Sheds 
under which they make Alum, the Rain-water that 
falls hereabouts, naturally stagnates in the middle of 
the plain, which is the lowest part of it, from whence 
being impregnated with earth, they bring it hither, & 
digest it in proper receivers, where the Alum forms 
itself into a thin ice-like Crust on the surface, & sides 
of the Vessels. Petronius gives a good Description 
of this wonderful Spot in his fragment of a Poem : it 
was called Forum Vulcanium. the Capucins have a 
small convent a little above it; no ver}^ secure Situa- 
tion. PozzuoU is about a mile distant from hence; 
the country of extreme beauty and fertility with 
openings every now & then among the hills, that 
discover that part of the Bay between the little 
promontory on which this town is situated, & M: 
Pausilypo ; with the little Isle of Nisida, that lies just 
before the point of it; it is a high rock (but cul- 
tivated) & with a Castle on it's most elevated part, 

1 Gray might find a precedent in Chaucer for this spelling, 
which probably rests on some false derivation. See Skeat's 
Etym. Diet., s.v. Ammonia. 



NOTES OF TRAVEL. 241 

which gives to a Neapolitan Cavalier the title of 
Marquis of Nisida. it is about a Mile & h round, 
anciently call'd Nesis, & remarkable for certain un- 
wholesome exhalations; now no such thing is ob- 
served there: between this & the land is a low flat 
rock with buildings on it, call'd the Lazaretto, from 
Pozzuoli we t(^ok a large boat with 4 oars to go round 
the Bay of Baiw in, which presented a beautiful 
calm Sea to the eye. from this town runs for a con- 
siderable way into the water the Mole of Antoninus 
Pius, the large massy piles of Brick and Cement 
appear not to have been all of equal width, we 
went coasting the bay round, passing by Monte 
Barbaro (the ancient Gaurus) eversince the strange 
Eruption of M: Nuovo by it's side it has lain barren 
Ov: neglected, till within these few years past they 
have begun to cultivate it anew, & to plant Vines in 
some parts, which they find succeed very well', a 
little further on is the New Mountain itself, not so 
high as the last mention'd, tliinly cloath'd with a 
burnt, and rusty herbage — Qusa scabie, & salsl, Isedit 
rubigine ferrum. it retains no other marks of it's 
former horrours. every one knows how accompanied 
with an earthquake, & vomiting out fire it rose out 

1 Cf. the last five lines of the Latin Hexameters on the 
Monte Barbaro and the Monte Nuovo sent to West from 
Florence Sep. 25, but written at Eome, July, 1740. (Works, i. 
181, ed. Gosse.) 

G. 16 



242 GRAY. 

of the earth in the space of one night about 200 years 
ago, & destroy'd or overwhelm'd all the country about 
it : it reaches from M : Gaurus to very near the lake 
Avernus. between the foot of this Hill, & the Sea 
lies the Lucrine Lake, whose i3resent condition can 
give but an imperfect Idea of its former beauty, since 
the mountain has rose in it's place, & cover'd the 
springs that used to supply it, so that nothing re- 
mains but a meer puddle, shallow & overgrown with 
reeds, & dwarf-myrtle, the ground that at present 
separates it from the Sea is not 10 Yards in breadth, 
& one sees no traces of the Jiilian Port Virgil men- 
tions, here we landed, & walked about -| a mile up 
among the Hills to the place, where the Avernus 
discovers itself in a charming vally surrounded by 
Vineyards & woods ; now much frequented by Water- 
fowl, & stock'd with fish, it is of a vast depth, 
& near 2 Mile in compass, at one end of the margin 
of it are the ruins of an Octagon temple of Brick, 
round withinside with 7 large Niches, & as many 
Windows over them : it is commonly named the 
Temple of Apollo, & by others of Neptune, or of 
Mercury, on another side of the Lake, after ascend- 
ing some way up one of the mountains by a narrow 
passage thro' the wood, one finds the mouth of the 
Sibyl's Grotta; 'tis very small, & one bends almost 
double to enter it; the straitness continues for a few 
paces; & then the cave rises into a tall Arch: this 



NOTES OF TRAVEL. 243 

Vault continues strait on (being about 13 foot broad, 
& 12 high) 95 Canes in length, where one sees the 
Earth has fall'n in, & stop'd it up. not far from the 
end by a very narrow winding passage one descends 
into a little arched batliing room, where one can 
hardly enter for the water that comes into it; the 
cieling has been adorn'd with little Grotesque paint- 
ings, & Mosaic, there is also another little Cell near 
it, where are the remains of a brick winding Staircase, 
which is supposed to liave led up to the top of the 
mountain, it is very hard to imagine the Use of 
these subterraneous ducts, in all likelihood they 
were older than the Roman's time, & that their mere 
age & oddness gave room to apply certain religious 
Fables to them, that obtain'd among the Vulgar : some 
of them they took for the mouth of Hell, others for 
the habitation of a Sibyl, others for the Cave of the 
Cimmerians, &c : the little rooms fitted up for bathing 
seem to have been a Use they were afterwards put to 
by people, near whose Villa's they happen'd to be. 
this tho' call'd so, is undoubtedly not the Sibyl's 
Grot of Virgil ; that he says was 

Excisum Euboicffi latus ingens rupis in antrum. 
But the Euboic, or Cumroan coast was quite on 
t'other side the promontory of Misenus, & near the 
Remains of Cuma is still to be seen the mouth of a 
Cave like this, running directly towards the Avernus, 
but stop'd up within 50 paces of the entrance, from 

16—2 



244 GRAY. 

hence returning back to the Sea we continued along 
tlie bay, whose borders not here alone, but quite 
fi'om Pozzuoli are a most surprizeing Scene for the 
Instances of Roman Magnificence, that shew them- 
selves even from the Summits of those Mountains 
that surround it down to their foot, & quite oiit into 
the Sea for many Paces, vast vaults & arches of 
Masons-work, that hang over, & seem to grow to the 
sides of those Cliffs, still supporting themselves with- 
out the help of their foundations, which appear far 
off below in ruins, being huge Masses of Brickwork, 
that stretch themselves far into the bay. 

Marisq Baiis obstrepentis urges 
Summovere littora, 

Parum locuples continente ripa. These were call'd 

Cffimentis licet occupes [Caementa. 

Tyrrhenum omne tuis — 

Contracta pisces aequora sentiunt 

Jactis in altum molibus: hue frequeus 

C^nienta demittit redeniptor 

Cum famuHs— 

A little farther we landed again at the Sudatorii 
di Tritoli, supposed to have been the Thermce of 
Nero ; 'tis certain there are vast remains of building 
up to the very summits of the mountain, the baths 
are artificial caverns work'd far into the rock, one 
enters by certain long & narrow passages, in one of 
which the heat is almost insupportable, if you walk 
upright ; upon stooping pretty low you do not feel so 
strongly the violence of it. this is 120 paces long. 



NOTES OF TRAVEL. 245 

& then one descends for 60 odd paces more, where a 
spring of scalding water boils out of the rock: biit 
this is a little too far to be led by mere curiosity, 
since two minutes at the entrance only of the Grott is 
sufficient to sweat one violently, the steam is very 
powerful & suffocating, & very visible at the mouth 
withoutside, where it issues out continually, the 
rich come hither in great numbers dureing the month 
of June, & use it seven days running, it belongs to 
the Annunziata, who send the patients of their hos- 
pitals hither sometimes 1000 at once, from whence 
we continued along an arch'd passage cut thro' the 
rock, & by a narrow pav'd road work'd also between 
the rocks, walk'd towards Baiaj : in the way we were 
very sensible of the hot vapour proceeding from the 
ground, & the mountain on our right: every now & 
then for a Pace or too (sic) it was intolerable, then 
one felt it no more, but only the common warmth of 
the Sun reflected from the Rock, there were several 
holes, in which one could scarce bear to thrust one's 
hand for the heat, a little further where the hills retire 
something from the shore, one sees a lofty Rotunda ; 
above half the Cupola is fall'n in, and a part of the 
Inclosure. the Structure is of Brick (as are most 
of the remains hereabout) neatly & strongly built, 
it has 4 great Niches below, and 7 Windows over 
them, there are so many ruins scatter'd about, & 
joining to it, that it is imagined to have been an 



246 GRAY. 

appartment of the Baths of Piso, the famous head of 
a Conspiracy against Nero : but however it goes by 
the name of Dianas temple, a little further are 
several large arch'd Vaults, which stand always 
pretty deep in water, thro' which a Man carries you 
under a little arch into another round Edifice adjoin- 
ing, about 25 Paces in Diameter, with an opening 
atop as usual, & 4 windows below it. here they make 
you whisper, & it has the same efi'ect, as in the Dome 
of S. Pauls, this they name Truglio di Mercurio. 
a little farther, & upon the Shore is an Octagonal 
Edifice, the whole Recinto remains, but the top is 
demolish'd. it has an arch'd opening atop for a 
window in each side, & four great Niches, the shape 
of the frontispiece remains, being a large Arch, & 
two small ones on the sides ; these make a strait line, 
longer than the temple side they join to, & must 
have had but a bad effect, this is call'd the Temple 
of Venus, a little farther on the Shore is the Castle 
of Baise, built by D: Pedro of Toledo, seemingly 
pretty strong & in good repair, the body of it on 
an eminence, but it's fortification's descend to the 
Sea. something beyond it are some remains of Bauli, 
where on the coast they shew you a sepulchre for 
that of Agrippina Minor, it is almost cover'd with 
earth ; they have made a hole, into which by a ladder 
one descends, there is a vaulted passage runs round 
between the double Walls, like that in the Mauso- 



NOTES OF TRAVEL. 247 

leum of Augustus, only in little : the roof has 
some remains of Stucco with little figures in Com- 
partiments & Borders of Grotesque, Sphinxes, & 
foliage, but much damaged & blacked by the smoke 
of Torches, a little distance from hence are tlie 
Cento Camerelle. there is a large Vault, sustain'd 
by about a dozen square pillars, & by a small stair- 
case one descends under ground by narrow passages 
into certain other appartments, whose use nobody 
seems to conceive, there are many & various ruins 
spread about the country here, to which they have 
aflfix'd the names of various gTeat Men, whose Villa's 
are mention'd as situated somewhere hereabouts, but 
upon trivial grounds, you now are not far from the 
Bay of Miseno the Station of the Roman fleet upon 
this Sea, & consequently almost at the end of the 
promontory : one ascends up the charming hills 
cover'd with Vineyards, & Plantations, that form the 
Back of it, about 3/4 of a mile, & passes in the way by 
rows of ruin'd sepulchres, in some of which is a little 
Mosaic, & a few grotesque ornaments of painting, 
this place they now call Mercato di Sabbato, & the 
country about it Campi Elisii, it is indeed of mira- 
culous fertility, & beauty, one has here a View of 
the Mare Mortuum, a pleasant lake, or rather bay, 
for it communicates with the Sea, & is only separated 
from it by a little tongue of land, a few paces in 
breadth, & M: Miseno beyond it which rises gra- 



248 GRAY. 

dually without precipices, & is cultivated up to the 
Very top, where it spreads into a plain, a fine situa- 
tion for some Temple, or lofty building, there once 
was a Pharos upon it, but nothing now, it joins to 
the land by a narrow & low Isthmus, we tasted the 
wine of this country, which is of a full red, strong, 
& rough, like Bourdeaux Claret, & might with 
time come to be excellent, beyond Misenus are the 
Isles of Ischia & Procita (Arimse or Inarime, & 
Prochyta) the former much the larger, very lofty, 
especially to the N : East ; the more plain End of it 
has a large town, & several buildings, that make a 
great figure in the prospect, for it is much frequented 
on account of it's baths : Procita is much lower, less, 
& not so well inhabited, between the Mare Mortuum 
& Mercato di Sabbato is the huge antient Reservoir, 
call'd Piscina Mirabilis ; one descends into it by 40 
Steps ; it is supported by 148 square Pilastroni. 
the whole work cover'd with a plaister as hard as 
stone itself, there are Spiracula in the roof for the 
passage of air & light, some attribute this work to 
LucuUus, others to Agrippa & say it was a Conserva- 
tory of fresh water for the Use of the Fleet, that lay 
at Misenus. the ruins of Cumse lie but a little way 
on the other side of the Promontory however we 
return'd to Pozzuoli cross the bay, and made another 
day of it thither wholly by land, near the foot of 
M: Gaurus by which one passes we turn'd towards 



NOTES OF TRAVEL. 249 

the right to the place called Via Campana, where for 
more than a mile are numberless ancient remains 
without much distinguishable form or beauty indeed, 
but huge, & massy ; beside abundance of Sepulchres, 
some of them open'd not many years since : one is 
the most entire I have ever seen 'tis a square Colum- 
barium with 4 or 5 rows of Niches ; in the midst 
of 3 of the sides are as many large Enfoncemens 
with a Column on each side of them sustaining a 
pediment, much like a modern Chimneypiece ; the 
whole of brick cover'd with plaister, the roof & sides 
between the niches adorned with little Grotesques of 
painting, & Stucco in square Compartiments with 
small figures in the middle prettily executed enough 
& in tolerable preservation, there are Centaurs, 
Sphinxes, Loves, Harpies, &c : it seems to have 
been the monument of some considerable family, but 
all the inscriptions & Urns are taken away, & I 
could get no information of what might have been 
learnd from thence, the road runs along the hills, 
that form a circle about the Avernus. less than a mile 
on this side Cuma one passes under the Arco Felice, 
it joins two Hills together, handsomely built of Brick, 
& with vast Solidity, for the Mass is above 50 foot 
in thickness, the Arch is 20 foot wide, & 70 high, 
& there are 2 or 3 little ones still atop of that, so 
that it was even with the summit of the hills, not 
far from thence is the little temple call'd Del Gigante, 



250 . GRAY. 

where is said to have been found the Colossal Statue of 
Jupiter now before the Palace at Naples, it is square 
with a vaulted roof in Compartiments, such as those 
of the Pantheon, at the end is a large Nich, but not 
near of a sufficient size to hold that statue, the re- 
mains of Cumse are nothing in themselves very consi- 
derable, but (as every thing else hereabouts) vast, 
& such as give one a great Idea of ancient art & 
industry, the rock, on which the famous temple of 
Apollo & Diana is supposed to have stood, is very 
steep, & close to the shore ; the Substructiones remain 
on the sides of it, & are of hewn Stone, extremely 
solid, & neat : this seems to have been the situation of 
both Temple, & Citadel, below this hill, on one side, 
where the rocks retire a little from the shore, is the 
mouth of a Cave, perhaps the true Grotta della Sibylla, 
this is very spacious, & only inconvenient by the num- 
ber of loose stones that roll down into it, for it is a 
gradual descent all the way. where the rock did not 
seem capable of supporting itself, it has been propped 
in several places of the sides by a wall of hewn stone 
built up to it. some paces within it on the left hand 
is a large & wide ascent of Stairs (I believe) more than 
60 Steps, it goes strait at first, but winds a little 
towards the top, where when you land, there seems 
to have been another narrow flight of steps, leading- 
still higher, but this is quite stop'd up with earth, as is 
the Cave itself not a great way further, this many 



NOTES OF TRAVEL. 251 

imagine to have been the other mouth of the Grot 
near Avernus, but it is conjecture only, all this part 
of the coast is exposed to an intense heat of the sun, 
fruits are consequently in very early perfection here, 
they used to have figs ripe at this Season, & Grapes 
in great forwardness ; at the time we were there 
indeed there was no appearance of it, the year being 
remarkably backward I believe all over Europe ; how- 
ever Barley was then ready to cut, & the Wheat had 
chang'd colour, we made a Utile journey also on the 
otherside of the Bay of Naples to Portici, where the 
King has a Villa about 4 Miles out of town, the way 
thither is thro' a number of small towns, & seats of 
the nobility close by the Sea, for Mount Vesuvius 
has not ever been able to deter people from inhabiting 
this lovely coast, & as soon as ever an irruption is 
well over, tho' perhaps it has damaged, or destroy'd 
the whole country for leagues round it, in some 
months every thing resumes its former face, and goes 
on in the old channel, that mountain lies a little 
distance from Portici towards the left, divided into 2 
Summits, that farthest from the Sea is rather the 
largest, & highest called Monte di Somma. this has 
been hitherto very innocent ; the lesser one, which is 
properly Veswcio, is that so terrible for it's fires; it 
is better than 3 Miles to ascend & those extremely 
laborious, 'twas extremely quiet at the time I saw 
it : some days one could not perceive it smoke at all. 



252 GRAY. 

others one saw it riseing like a white Column from it, 
but in no great quantity, about a mile beyond Por- 
tici we saw the Stream of combustible Matter, which 
run from it in the last eruption ; within |^ of a mile, 
or less from the Sea is a small church of Our Lady, 
belonging to certain Zoccolanti, into this church it 
enter'd thro' one of the side-doors without otherwise 
damageing the fabrick, run cross it, & was stop'd, 
I suppose, by the opposite Wall, the Fryars have 
dugg away that part of it, & left it whole riseing in a 
great rough mass at the door where it enter'd, as if 
the miraculous power of our Lady had forbid it to 
advance further : this is well-contrived, & carries some 
appearance with it. that part of the Stream, which 
comes along thro' the fields, at a distance resembles 
plough'd Land, but rougher, & in huge Clods; they are 
hard, & heavy, like the dross of some metals; the 
people pile the pieces up, & make an enclosure to their 
fields with them, this place is call'd Torre del Greco ; 
it is about 4 Years since the Eruption happen'd. 
I imagine the river of fire, or Lava, as they call it, 
may be 20 Yards, or more in breadth, it is not above 
a Year since they discover'd under a part of the town 
of Portici a little way from the Shore an ancient & 
terrible example of what this mountain is capable of ; 

J See Walpole's letter to West of June 14, 1740 N. S. from 
Naples (ed. Cunningham, i. p. 48). He gives, as obtained from 
Gray, the quotation from Statins infra. Also Gray to his 
mother, June 17, 1740 (ed. Gosse, ii. 80 sq.). 



NOTES OF TRAVEL. 253 

as they were digging to lay the foundations of a house 
foi' the Prince d'Elboeuf, they found a Statue or two 
with some other ancient remains, which comeing to 
the King's knowledge he ordei''d them to work on 
at his expence, & continuing to do so they came to 
what one may call a whole city under ground ; it is 
supposed, & with great probability to be the Greek 
settlement call'd Herculaneum, which in that furious 
Eruption, that happen'd under Titus (the same in 
which the elder Pliny perish'd) was utterly over- 
whelmed, & lost with several others on the same 
coast. Statins, who wrote as it were on the spot, 
& soon after the accident had happen'd, makes a 
very poetical exclamation on the subject, which this 
discovery sets in it's full light. . . . 

Hffic ego Chalcidicis ad te, Marcelle, sonabara 
Littoribus, fractas ubi Vesbius egerit iras, 
iEmula Trinacriis volvens incendia flammis. 
Mira fides! credetne virum ventura propago 
i*Cum segetes iterum, cum jam hffiC deserta virebunt, 
Infra urbes populosq premi, iiroavitaq toto 
Eura abiisse mari? nee dum lethale minari 
Cessat apex. Silvie: Epist: ad Vict: Marcellum L: 4. 

The work is unhappily under the direction of 
Spaniards, people of no taste or erudition, so that 
the workmen dig, as chance directs them, wherever 
they find the ground easiest to work Avithout any 

1 This line is inserted, obviously afterwards, by Gray and 
marked with an asterisk. 



254 GRAY. 

certain view, they have been fearful of the earths 
falling in, & with reason, for it is but soft, & 
crumbling, so that the passage they have made, is 
but just sufficient for one person to walk upright in : 
I believe, with all its windings it is now a good mile 
in length & every day is increaseing. one descends 
conveniently to the depth of about 30 foot by the 
stone Steps of a Theatre, that they have found, one 
walks a good way by the side of one of it's Gal- 
leries ; one see's buildings of brick with incrustations 
of white marble, & here & there a solid column of 
it, some upright, cithers fall'n, & lieing at length, 
there is what appears the front of some edifice, an 
arch with double pilasters on each side, these are 
of brick cover'd witli a coat of plaister, and painted 
green with shades to imitate the trunk of a Palm- 
tree, one passes by many walls cover'd with the 
same plaister, painted in square compartiments either 
green, or red, & sometimes a little figure, or piece 
of grotesque in proper colours amongst it. most of 
these buildings are still upright, it's plain ; other 
parts seem overturn'd, & in ruins ; there is a mixture 
of woodwork amongst the brick, all black, as a coal, 
& tho' so firm as to show one even the Grain dis- 
tinctly, yet upon being touch'd, moulders away into 
dust, whether this be the effect of Fire, or merely 
Age, I can not say : it is certain, there are no marks 
of the first in any other instance; what there may 



NOTES OF TRAVEL. 255 

be nearer the surface, I can't say. they have found 
an 011a with Rice, & Dates in it. the first I saw none 
of, but they say it retain'd it's hardness, the latter 
was as black as the wood ; & of a firmer consistence, 
there are inscriptions placed where the principal 
paintings, & Statues were found, which have been 
convey'd to the Palace, & there we went to see 
them, there are more than, 40 pieces from half a 
foot square to 6 or 7 feet, as they are painted on 
Wall considering the difficulty of removeing, & con- 
veying them one may call them well-preserved ; one 
may say the same of them, as to the "colouring, with 
regard to their antiquity, it is not to be imagined 
very lively; it is sufficient if the Clair Obscur 
be distinguishable ; the colours are laid on in a 
bold manner with strong strokes of the pencil, & 
not much softned one into the other, but that is 
a delicacy time may easily have destroy'd. the 
Airs, particularly of heads, are commonly the best, 
in other parts there are frequent incorrectnesses of 
drawing: one of the most considerable is, I think 
The Chiron, & Achilles. fig''f a little less than 
life, the latter is a Boy, whom the Centaur is in- 
structing to touch the Lyre, & a perfectly genteel 
figure ; he has a little drapery, about his middle, 
otherwise naked, & looks up in the other's face with 
a natural innocent air. the old Man's head is ex- 
cellent for the air, & expression; the hair & beard 



256 GRAY. 

very great, & bold in a Style like Rafael; the naked 
too of the human part is fine, but the Horse (his 
hinder parts) is vastly too small, & out of proportion 
to the rest : the Scene is the front of a temple with a 
Portico, this is the best preserved among them. 

Theseus after his victory over the Minotaur, that 
Monster (a human figure with the head of a Bull, 
but no horns) lies dead at his feet, the Youth are 
flocking round him, & kissing his hands, the}^ are 
little figures with the proportions of full-grown people, 
but not a quarter so big as life, tho' he himself is 
rather larger, his head with the Sweep of the body 
as far as the middle is very noble, & resembles the 
famous Meleager: the legs & arms, particularly the 
extremities vastly inferiour, & good for little. A Wo- 
man sitting on a rock, her head on her hand, looking 
upwards, she is crown'd with flowers & (I think) has 
a Cornucopise. before her a naked figure, like a Her- 
cules, his back towards one, & face in Profile, & 
beyond him a Victory half-appearing out of the 
clouds, on the foregi'ound a small Doe (Capreola) 
giveing suck to an infant, & a little further an Eagle, 
& Lion, the principal figures big as life, some good 
things, but the extremities not good as in the 
former 

There are other large pieces, but more damaged 
than these, another old man (not a centaur) instruct- 
ing a Youth ; this is almost vanish'd. somewhat like 



NOTES OF TRAVEL. 257 

a tryal, figures in Roman habits, & a Man seated, & 
crown'd with Lawrel, who seems to judge them. A 
Muse with two Fhites, &c: among the lesser are 
2 Satyrs heads, one of them in a good taste ; a sort 
of Landscape with buildings on each side a Lake, 
where they lessen in proportion to their distance 
according to the rules of perspective. A piece of 
architecture, Avhere thro' an opening is seen a Portico 
with it's Columns showing, also according to art ; & 
many others exceeding curious, as indeed the whole 
discovery is one of the most considerable made for 
these many ages, there are 6 Consular Statues of 
white Marble in the Toga, & a Scroll in their hands, 
as usual, the head of one of them, an elderly Man, 
as fine as possible. 

An Lnperfect figure of a woman without head 
or arms ; the Drapery perfectly good 

Part of a Horse, much bigger than life, Bronze ; & 
many more fragments of brazen statues, several Ollai ; 
a Tripod of Marble with animals heads, & foliage ; 
some Liscriptions, one very large to the honour of 
Vespasian, another to Domitian's Wife, before he 
was Emperour (he is call'd Caesar in it) several Medals, 
particularly of Claudius Cses: many small Gold and 
silver instruments ; but these were in the King's own 
hands, & we could not see them, the view of Naples, 
& it's Bay in returning from hence is as beautiful, 
as possible, it forms a huge Semicircle, & tlie mouu- 
G. 17 



258 GRAY. 

tains, that rise behind are (not like the barren ones 
of Genoa, but) as deliciously fertile as one can ima- 
gine, all cover'd with Verdure, & woods intermix'd 
with Villas, so is the whole Chain of Coteaux, that 
run along to the S:E. of the City in a line parallel 
to it. Naples has not the stately buildings of Genoa, 
the materials are not so rich, nor the tast so 
good, but in recompense it is larger, and it's bay 
with the country about it infinitely more beautiful, 
the streets are spacious, & well paved, the houses 
high, & of equal goodness for a great way together ; 
they reckon it 9 mile in circumference without the 
Suburbs, of which it has 7, & large ones, it is peopled 
to a redundancy; they reckon 500,000 Souls, & it 
seems not hard to believe : there are a greater num- 
ber of children than ever I saw anywhere ; they walk 
at 6 months old, and go stark naked for 4 or 5 Years 
which the Climate will easily bear, the people are 
lively to a degTee, and seem less inclined to Laziness 
than the rest of Italy, every body is busy, till the 
evening : then they give themselves up to diversion ; 
the Men take their Colascione (a great sort of Lute) 
or their Guitarre, & walk on the Shore to enjoy the 
Fresco, sometimes singing in their Dialect in concert 
with their instrument, the women sit at their doors 
playing on the Cymbal, to the sound of which the 
children dance with Castanets, this one sees all 
along the Chiaia, which runs out from the City near 



NOTES OF TRAVEL. 259 

a mile in length towards Pausilypo, on one side are 
houses, chiefly of the common people intermix'd with 
some great ones, the other open to the Sea with Trees, 
& here and there a fountain, hither the Coaches 
resort in the evening, & drive slowly in 2 ranks 
backward & forward for an hour or two, a little 
beyond the end of this, & halfway up the side of 
Pausilipo is the little Church founded and endowed 
by Sanazarius in honour of the Partus Virginis ; at 
the end of it, where you enter, opposite to the high- 
Altar is his Monument, of the finest white Marble, 
on a spatious Basis are situated the figures of Apollo 
and Minerva sitting, & between them is a square 
bas-relief of Satyrs with Neptune & other figures, 
that shew he was the inventor of Piscatory Eclogues. 
above rises a Sarcofagus of a handsome figure with 
his bust upon it, an elderly man in long lank 
hair, the whole is a fine performance of Girolamo 
Santa Croce, a Neapolitan artist, compleated by Fr^ 
Gio : da Montorsoli, the Florentine, over the Mouth 
of the Grotta almost is the Toinb calVd of Virgil ; 
'tis of difficult access, & all cover'd with Shrubs, 
that grow over it, a square sepulchre with a vaulted 
roof, & 10 little Niches like the Columbaria : it 
belonged to be sure to some family. The Grand 
Street (di Toledo aforemention'd) winding a little 
toward the further end opens into an irregular Piazza, 
one side of which (to the left) is form'd by the Palace, 

17—2 



260 GRAY. 

a fine piece of Cav: Fontana's Architecture ; it is 
of 23 Windows in front, & 3 Orders, Doric, Ionic, 
& Corinthian, the first of them is a Loggia, the 
other 2 the Apartments, the Great Gate consists of 
4 Doric Columns of Granite, that support a Ringhiera 
of 50 Palms in length; the whole front is of 520 
Palms, the 2 ends of 360 ; the height 130 Palms: 
these buildings enclose a Cortile, where the same 
Orders are observed. 

JOUENEY INTO SCOTLAND, FROM ROSE-CASTLE 
IN CUMBERLAND. Aug: 1764. Bp of Carlisle. 

To Netherby. Rev: M"" Graham's, who has built hot- 
houses there, & made a line Kitchen-Garden, & 
great plantations, here was probably the ^sica 
of Anton: Itiner: 

Cross the Sark (3 miles N:W:) & enter Scot- 

Annandale in Dumfries-Shire 

land A good road, ugly country. 

To Annam, at dinner, bad inn. excellent Mutton. 
Claret 3 S: a bottle, wretched appearance, <fc 
dwellings of the common People, huts of mud, 
& no chimneys. 

To Dumfreis, at night, a large & handsome Town, 
excellent Inn. fine views from the walks, parti- 
cularly that on the Galloway-side of the R: Nid 
a little above the Bridge, & another on y" other 
side of the Town along the River. 5 hours thro' 
a fertile vale (Nithesdale) 



NOTES OF TRAVEL. 261 

To Drnmlanrig, chief seat of the Duke of Queensbury, 
in a dreary wild country. Castle very large & 
strong, erected about 80 years ago. many por- 
traits in the Gallery. 36 miles thro' Dresdear 
(where the Queensberry Family lie buried) to Car- 

in Lanark-Shire 

michael-House a (Earl of Hyndford's) & only one 
Inn in the way. the House is now building, 
many pictures here. great plantations here, 
country naked & mountainous. 6 miles to 

Corr-liouse-Lynn. where the R: Clyde falls by three 
different cataracts about 200 feet high, in a land- 
scape of woods & rocks worthy the hand of Pous- 
sin. walk from hence a mile along the River to 

Bonnington-Lynn, where it falls again in a single 
sheet, above the fall is a beautiful quiet pastoral 
scene, a cut thro' the wood in returning dis- 
covers Lanerke, a large Town not far distant on 
an eminence. 

Lanerke. thro' bad roads to 

also on the Clyde 

Hamilton a pretty large Town with one tolerable Inn. 
Hamilton-Palace stands in a spacious Park at the 
end of y® Town, a great ill-contrived edifice. 
gTand Front built within these 50 years: Back- 
Front about James the 6*^ time. Gallery full of 
fine pictures : much of Gibbons's carving here, 
bad turnpike road to 

still on tlie Clyde 

Glasgow A an elegant City. Roman inscriptions at 



262 GRAY. 

the College. M^" Foulis' Picture-Galleiy. the 
Kirk was the ancient Cathedral, a noble Gothick 
Building, miserably spoil'd with Galleries & out 
of repair: 12 miles to the banks of 

in Dumbarton-Sliire Inch-Mirin 

Loch-Lomond a row'd to Inys-Mary a an island with a 
Park of y* Duke of Montrose's, whose House at 
Buchanan stands on the edge of y^ Lake, ex- 
quisite Landscape round the Lake, view of Ben- 
Lomond, the second mountain in Scotland for 

read Ben-Nevish in Inverness-shire 

height Ben-Evis a being the first, return to Glas- 
gow, by 

Dunharton. Castle on a lofty rock garrison'd. im- 
mense view from thence, set out for (in one day) 

Stirling, by Kilsyth thro' an ugly country cross 
Graham's Dyke, (the wall of Antonine). fine 
View from the Castle. 

in Linlitligowsliire 

Thro' Falkirk ; dine at Borrowstonness a good roads, 
& fine corn-countrey. it is a Sea-Port for Coal, 
fine rich prospect over the Firth, along the 
coast to 

Abercorn (now Hopton- House), fine situation on a 
bold ascent from the Firth, the House built early 
in the present century, irregular & ugly, small 
appartments. well-furnish'd & good pictures, 
two hours to 

in Mid-Lothian 

Edinhorough a miserable Lms. noble views from the 
Castle. Holy-rood House, some of it 200 years 



NOTES OF TRAVEL. 263 

old at least, but mostly built by S'' W'" Bruce 
100 years later, here in the Earl of Braidalbin, 
& Duke Hamilton's lodgeings are a number of 
pictures, room where Rizzio was murther'd shewn 
here. Nave of y'' Abbey Church standing, but 

now rcpair'd 

ready to fall a went out of To^vn to 
Dalkeith (Duke of Buccleuch's). fine tapestry & rich 

old furniture, many pictures, an hour's drive to 
Bosslon. in a lovely Valley, ruins of a Castle, the 

famous chappel built in 1440. not far off is Haw- 

thornden remarkable for its caverns, & romantic 

situation, return to Edinburgh, go by dinner 

time to 
Duddiston (E: of Abercorn's). thence to 
Newbattle (the Marq: of Lothian's) once an Abbey, 

seated in a Park ill-kept, but full of pictures, go 

to dine at 
Drum (J/ Somerville's). a new House with some 

in Berwickshire 

good Portraits, from Duddiston by Dallhousie a 
thro' a naked countrey by good roads to Bank- 
End, where is a good Inn. thence by the even- 
ing to 

in Uoxborough-Sliire 

Melross (or Meurs) a small Town a with a great linnen 
manufacture on tlie R: Tweed, noble ruins of the 
Abbey-Church built about our Edw: 2*^'^ time, & 
exquisitely adorn' d. Colony of Masons still dwell- 
ing here, difficult road to 



264 GRAY. 

Kelso, by Dryburgh, a ruiii'd Abbey, & Fleurs (the 
D: of Roxburgh's seat). Kelso is a poor dirty 
Town, but with noble niins of an Abbey in the 
Saxon style, dine at Cornliill' in England, oppo- 
site to Coldstream in Scotland, here is a neat 
Inn. in the afternoon to 

Tweedmouth. separated only by a fine Bridge from 
Berwick passing (some miles out of the road) by 

Norliam-Castle on a high rock, of w'''' only one vast 
Tower is standing, at Tweedmouth is an excel- 
lent Inn. two hours driving at Low-Water from 
Berwick to 

Holy-Island, the Saxon Church there, return thence 
to 

or more (intricate road) 

Belford. about 6 miles a to 

Bamburgh-Castle. very large, the Keep has been 
repair'd for the Minister's habitation. 



JOUENEY INTO SCOTLAND FROM DURHAM; 
Aug: 19, 1765. 

To Newcastle, 15 Miles, cross the Tyne. 

To Morpeth (in Northumberland) a neat and well- 
built Town standing in a pretty, but narrow, 
valley, on the R: Wanspeck. Gateway of the old 
Castle (now a Gaol) remaining on a hill, that 
overlooks the Town, West of the Bridge, the 

1 Substituted over ' Coleshill ' erased. 



NOTES OF TRAVEL. 265 

Countrey hitherto cultivated, but naked & un- 
pleasant. 14 miles. 
To Alnewick, 19 miles, a very good Town on the R: 
Alne, in a narrow valley, but inferior in beauty to 
the former, the Castle is built on an eminence, 
tho' far lower than the neighbouring hills, that 
border the valley on either hand. 

(N.B. The corrections and interlineations in the ac- 
count of the first Journey to Scotland were made at a 
later time, as appears from internal evidence, and by the 
less faded character of the ink. Perhaps on this 2nd 
Journey, a year later I) 



SECTION VII. 

THOUGHTS AND VERSE FRAGMENTS. 
GRAY. 



SECTION VII. 
THOUGHTS AND VERSE FRAGMENTS. 

(a) EXTRACTS MADE FEOM MR GRAY'S 
POCKET-BOOK. 

[In Pembroke Mss.] 

P.B. of 1754 

Contrast between the Winter Past and coming 
Spring. Joy owing to that Vicissitude, many that 
never feel that delight Sloth envy Ambition, how 
much happier the rustic that feels it tho he knows 
not how. 

Then follow a few lines of the ode Now the golden 
Morn etc. so that the note above apj)ears to be a kind 
of argument to that fragment. Four lines also as follow 
are among the others 

Rise my soul on wiugs of lire 

Rise the raptrons choir among 

Hark tis nature strikes the Lyre 

And leads the general Song. 

On another page 

Gratitude : 

The Joy that trembles in her eye 
She bows her meek and humble head 

in silent praise 
beyond the power of Sound. 



270 GRAY. 

(Mr Pope dead) 

and smart beneath the visionary scourge 

— 'tis Ridicule and not reproach that wounds 
Their vanity and not their conscience feels. 

Ou another page 

a few shall 
The cadence of my song repeat 
and hail thee in my words. 

Pocket Book of 1755 

The Province of Eloquence is to reign over minds 
of slow perception & little imagination to set things 
in lights they never saw them in — to engage their 
attention by details or circumstances gradually un- 
folded, to adorn & heighten them with images & 
colours unknown to them, to raise & engage their 
rude passions &c,' 

P.B. of 1760 

The Grub that breeds in & perishes with the 
Common Mass of Putrefaction without being regarded, 
if a few Drops of Amber fall on it is embalmed for 
ages, and becomes a rarity". 

1 [In a note to a letter from Gray to Norton Nicholls 
(Mitford's Gray, Aid. ed., vol. iv. p. 196), Mason has quoted 
the above, but in a characteristic fashion. He has either 
invented or foisted in from another letter a passage upon 
which to engraft the quotation, and then, as Mitford points 
out, added to Gray's incomplete sentence words of his own.] 

- Pope, Prolofjue to the Satires (1732 — 3). 

Pretty! in amber to observe the forms 
Of hairs, or straws, or dirt, or grubs, or worms! 
The things we know are neither rich nor rare. 
But wonder how the devil they got there. 



THOUGHTS AND VERSE FRAGMENTS. 271 

The Gout de Comparaison (as Bruy^re stiles it) is 
the only taste of ordinary minds. They do not know 
that Tibullus spoke the language of nature & love, 
that Horace saw the vanities and follys of mankind 
with the most penetrating eye and touched them to 
the quick, that Virgil * ■'' * But they know that 
Virgil is a better poet than Horace, and that Horace's 
Epistles do not run so well as Tibullus' elegies, 
they * * . 

(^) "Dumay the agreeable counsellor at Paris, 
after he was blind, sent Menage these two lines, 
having previously been told that his friend was laid 
up with the gout ; 

Qui mala nostra tulit praestanti dote valebat ; 
Ede viri nomen, dos tibi talis eiit. 

To which Menage instantly replied by the servant 
who waited 

(Edipodem tecum facio. Tumet aeger uterque 
Pes mihi. Caligat lumen utrumque tibi. 

The answer is prettiest 

In (Edipus alone I read 

Our miseries united; 
My lameness was to him decreed, 

His eyes like yours benighted. 

I could do nothing with the kiddle itself— M"" 
Gray did me the honour to turn it thus 



272 GRAY. 

He who our ills united bare, 
The art of divination knew ; 

If you the prophet's name declare, 
I'll hail you prophet too. 

And while the world owes him solid obligations, 
let him neither be angry nor ashamed that it sees 
he can trifle to oblige or divert a friend." 

Piozzi, British Synoui/my, vol. ii. p. 223. 

Mitford quotes the above passage in his note books 
III. p. 237 [Add. Mss. 32,562] under the hefiding 'Verses 
by Gray,' with no suggestion of any difficulty ; yet I know 
of no edition of Piozzi's Bynonymy earlier than 1794, and 
Mrs Piozzi seems to speak of Gray as still living. The 
explanation perhaps is that some of the materials for her 
book were put together long before this. 

(y) "I asked Mr Bryant, who was next boy to 
him at Eton, what sort of a scholar Gray was; he 
said a very good one ; and added that he thought lie 
could remember part of an exercise of his on the 
subject of the freezing and thawing of words, taken 
from the Spectator, the fragment is as follows : 

' pluviaeque loquaces 

Descendere jugis, et garrulus ingruit imber.'" 

NoETON NiCHOLLS. Reminiscences of Gray. 

Bryant himself writes that Gray made these verses 
' when he was rather low in the fifth form.' The theme 
however was not from the Spectator, but from the 254th 
Tatler. 



SECTION VIII. 

COLLECTANEA AND CONJECTURES. 
GRAY. 



[MITFOKD'S EXCERPTS. ADD. MSS. BRIT. MUS. 
32,561 ; 32,562.] 



G. 18 



SECTION VIII. 
COLLECTANEA AND CONJECTURES. 

GWEDDI'R HWSMONi. 

By the Vicar op Llandyfry in Q. Elizabeth's beign. 

{Lluiiiwr daiar, Helpivr dijnion.) 

Literal Translation. 

Thou former of the earth, Helper of Men 

Author of the Seeds of the Earth fruitful! 

Giver of rain, increaser of corn 

Hear the prayer of an Husbandman earnest 

I am going to till the ground 

And to sow in this my provision of Corn 

Without seeing again of it 

If thou dost not give a blessing on it. 

Lord, vain it is to plant 

To sow with an even hand & harrow. 

Except thou make it to sprout forth, 

And give a blessing & increase to it. 

There will not come a grain thro' the eartli 

Of all that I have of provision 

If thou wilt not make it sprout 

Grow out and increase 

I do therefore beg earnestly, 

^ (i.e. The Husbandman's Prayer.) 

18—2 



276 GRAY. 

Oh! God! thy blessing upon my corn 

That I may have from it 

Means, like a Christian, me to maintain. 

Open to me the Windows of Heaven 

Rain down a blessing upon my Lands, 

Feed the seed with the fat of the earth. 

And give prosperity to my Crop. 

Let not the Heavens turn to brass 

Nor the earth to iron by too much heat 

Let not the fields large fail 

For our backwardness in serving thee. 

Give by measure the former rain 

In it's season & the latter rain 

A temperate Season, heat moderate. 

Blessing & prosperity upon thy People 

Forbid the locust, forbid the Lindis, 

Forbid the Mildew, that freckles the barley, 

Forbid the Scorch & Wind & Lightning 

Wh"^*^ occasions to the Corn hurt. 

Crown the year with thy goodness 
Pour y*^ fatness of thy blessing on it 
Cloath the meads all with Sheep, 
And our Mountains with beasts. 

Give food to the Children of Men 

Give fodder to the beasts dumb 

Give Wine and Oil in plenty 

To satisfy thine inheritance 

Give us a harvest fruitful 

A blessing from the fields and y*' Cornstocks 

Seed from the garden and fruit from the orchard 

Honey from y® rock and milk from the fold 

And bless the Work of our Hands 

Lord gracious now & ever 

So we will bless thee too 

Upon our knees, night & morn. 

(From Mrs Newcome, the Bp of Landaff's lady.) 



COLLECTANEA AND CONJECTURES. 277 

Gray mss.i (in Mason's Collection). 

(Mitford's Excerpts, Add. mss. Brit. Mus. 32,562, vol. iv. 
p. 1 sq.) 

Sir R,: Walpole raisd himself by the H. of Com- 
mons in defiance of the Chiefs of his own Party. M'' 
Pelham never speaks well but when provokd. Sir 
R: W did not understand foreign affairs ; had no 
friendship but with persons much below him. jealous 
of his Power, drove all considerable Men from Court. 
P? authority not depending on the K^ favor, he cares 
less who obtains it. -Timid, scrupulous, proud, in- 
communicative. K. lost his eldest son, but glad of 
it. (lid not love his children when young, now does 
as well as most fathers. Q. of Denmark died of a 
rupture conceald^ (like her mother) who said to her 
Louisa remember I die by being giddy and obstinate 
in mak^ a Secret of my disorder. K. of Denmark, 
tho' very fond of her, kept a Mistress, & gave her 
great uneasiness. (She) told her family at parting, if 
she was unhappy, they sh*^ never know it. moving 
letter, when dying. 

^ The authorities for Gray's anecdotes are Mason (M" or M) 
from "Warburton (W — n) ; Horace Walpole (Mr W); and Dr 
Heberden. Who T. is, I do not know, but he seems to have 
been a friend of the Mrs Bonfoy who 'taught' Gray 'to pray'. 
(Works, ed. Gosse, iii. 152, ii. 378 n.) Some of these stories 
are already familiar to us through Horace Walpole. 

- Cf. Walpole's Reminiscences {Letters, vol. i. p. cxxxi sq. 
Cunningham.) 



278 GRAY. 

D. of Newcastle raisd a Troop in the Preston Reb: 
and in which M"" P: behavd with bravery — betray'd 
Lord Sunderland his first Patron to L*^ Townshend 
who was therefore much agst Sir R. W making him 
Secretary, betrays Townshend to Walpole when they 
began to disagree. The first insists on his dismission 
in order to a Reconciliation. King consents to take 
Methuen, Queen and Sir R Walpole save the Duke, 
on the Fall of Sir R W. he deals with the opposition 
to compass his ruin. D. of Argyle (disappointed) bid 
P Ila tell R. W. that the Duke N: & Chancellor had 
long leagued with himself and Granville agst him. 
N: betrays Granv: to Chesterfield. Lord Gr. swore 
he would be a Page of the Backstairs, rather than 
quit the Court again, same to Willes "What is it 
to me who are judges and Bishops ? I make Kings 
and Emperors." Early attempts to unite with R: W. 
by Lord Hervey's means, but he refusd, being per- 
suaded he had connections with Pretender. L** Orf*^ 
applied to by the P? comes to Town, writes to K : who 
dismisses his ministers. Gr. & Bath keep up connec- 
tion with K: by Yarmouth and persuade not make 
Pit (sic) Secret: at War. Resignation. Wilmington 
mediates. L*^ Granv: had offerd the great Seal to 
Willes and the Seals to Ld Cholmondely. Privy Seal 
to L: Carlyle. D. of Grafton went into the Closet 
laughing & said, ' Sir, I am come to direct your 
Majesty, who shall be yr Minister.' Scheme to govern 



COLLECTANEA AND CONJECTURES. 279 

by P' Emily. to Queen "Gad Madam I wish I 

could have been that man you could love." if the 3 
days Ministry ^ had lasted, Lord Harlington (sic) was 
to impeach L"^ Granv — 

...Sir R W. astonishd to hear the K: sli*^ behave 
well at the Battle of Dett°. Sir James Lowther left 
the Court & went to the Prince on the act for 
reducing interest to 4 per c. K: sunk his Father's 
will". Pr: s*^ to Ld Donerayl 'My Lord, whoever 

are my Ministers, I shall be King ' on the 

Friday of the Rebels' march was for going to Ports- 
mouth with his Wife & family. Supper on the 
Princ: lyeing in, during the Siege of Carlisle at 
which my Lord Stair was present Desert was the 
Citadel of Carlisle, w""*" was pelted & taken with 
Sugar-plums ^ L** Chesterfield never coughs & says, 
nobody need. 

Window tax in Scotland returnd not a Shilling. 

Davidson Min'' of Naver, Braes of Angus and 

Parishes prosecuted for wilful Fire-raising havg made 
bonfires on Dukes birthday. Coach tax first year 
£1000. 2*^ year, nothing. Lord Ila betrayd the 
burrows (sic) trusted to him to his brother, in 1741... 

1 1746, when Lords Bath and Granville tried in vain to 
displace the Duke of Newcastle. 

- Walp. Bern. chap. vi. {Letters, i. p. cxx sq., ed. Cunning- 
ham.) 

^ Walpole to Mann. {Letters, i. p. 407, ed. Cunningham.) 



280 GRAY. 

before Sir R. Walpole's fall'. ...Murray and Cresset 
disciples of Bolingbroke and his bequest to late Prince. 
Income of the Pret"^ before Rebellion 23000£ a year. 
Ld B. advisd he sh"^ resign to his Son. Bp of Nor- 
wich finds the Pretender reading P. d'Orleans". Mur- 
ray and Bp of Norwich. L*^ H a cypher. L*^ W. too 
young to govern, & too old to be governd 

...M"" E: W^ German footman, because he could 
not find one M"" Abbot, that his master wanted, 
fetchd another M'^ Abbot that he thought would do 
as well — M" Le Neves maid desird her Mistress pic- 
ture and s^ the Man (she knew) had bought the best 
of Colors, & anybody could lay them on. G: Towns- 
hend put under arrest for 5 hours. 

Pope was extremely desirous that M'' Allen sh** 
invite P*'*' Blount to his House near Bath, w*^*" he 
accordingly did ; — some time after the Men went out 
together on some Party or other, and at their return, 

1 'But how will Walpole justify his fate? 

He trusted Islay till it was too late.- 

Sir C. Hanbury Williams on 1741. 
Horace Walpole notes ' Archibald Campbell, Earl of Islay, 
brother of John Duke of Argyll, in conjunction with whom 
(though then openly at variance) he was supposed to have 
betrayed Sir K. W. and to have let the Opposition succeed in 
the Scotch elections, which were trusted to his management. 
It must be observed that Sir Eobert Walpole would never 
allow that he believed himself betrayed by Lord Islay.' [See 
Cunningham's ed. of Letters of Walpole, i. p. 135.] 

2 Voltaire's Pucelle. 



COLLECTANEA AND CONJECTURES. 281 

found M" Blount had quarrelld violent!)' with M'** 
Allen & was determind to leave the House, at part- 
ing she took a little bawble, that hung to her Watch, 
and gave to Miss Tucker^ (then a Child whom War- 
burton afterwards married) for (she said) she was the 
only Person in the House, that had been civil to her. 
She went away directly, and Pope with her", & from 
that time there was a coldness between him & Allen. 
M"^ Warburton remembers that she lay at that time 
in the next room to Pope, & that every Mor^ between 
Q & 7 o'clock, M""' Blount usd to come into his 
Chamber, when she heard them talk earnestly together 
for a long time. & that when they came down to 
breakfast, M" B: usd alys to ask him how he had 
rested that night. 

That after this, M'' A: & his family came a time 
to M'' Popes at Twick'nam, & that he vn-ote a letter^ 

1 Niece of the Aliens. " In 1745 Warburton married 
Allen's favourite niece, Gertrude Tucker ; he owed to Allen's 
interest several steps in his ecclesiastical advancement ; and 
eventually, after the owner's death, he became the possessor 
of Prior Park." [Courthope, Life of Pope, p. 338.] 

- Not so: Pope left her with the Aliens at Bath, as appears 
by a letter from her to him, 1743 (Pope's Works, Courthoi^e, ix. 
332). ...In reply to this Pope writes 'I think it best still to 
enclose to Mr Edwyn. I should not wonder if listeners at doors 
should open letters.' (lb. p. 335.) 

3 Probably that dated 25 March 1744 (lb. p. 336). It was 
only Allen who came, in Pope's account of the matter. Pope 
died about two months after (May 30). 



282 GRAY. 

to M""^ Blount excusing it, in which lie spoke slight- 
ingly of them. This letter she show'' about & it was 
told M'' A° which much increase! the Quarrell. 

That she obligd M'' Pope to insert in his Will that 
article of the 300£' returnd to M'' A: and threatend 
she wd not accept of what he had left her, unless he 
did so (M: from M"^ & M""' W— n) 

W — n has a long & extremely fine character of 

the D of Marlboro' wrote by P. on the margin of his 

Characters of Men', but severe beyond measure. M. 

could remember only these two lines 

' In vain a Nation's wish, a Senate's cares ; 
God said — Let lust & madness be his heirs. 



^ £150. " Allen accepted the legacy, which he gave to the 
Hospital at Bath, observing that Pope was always a bad 
accountant, and that, if to 150 1, he had put a cipher more, he 
had come nearer the truth." (Johnson.) Johnson repeats the 
Warburtonian legend about Martha Blount's conduct in this 
matter, but it is contradicted by her own statement to Spence, 
that she tried to persuade Pope to omit this mention of Allen. 
(Courthope, Life of Pope, p. 341.) 

- Gray was mistaken on this point. It was in the margin 
of the 4th Epistle of the Essay on Man. A facsimile of the 
page is given in Courthope's Pojie, vol. in. (ad in.). The 
design of the change was to make the well-known reference 
to Marlborough in the passage beginning 

' Mark by what wretched steps their glory grows, 
From dirt and sea- weed as proud Venice rose ' — 
more direct and pointed. The lines, says Mr Courthope, were 
evidently well known in Pope's own circle, since Warton says 



COLLECTANEA AND CONJECTURES. 283 

When he [Bolingbroke] came to die, he appeared 
to expect nothing but annihilation (M:) 

The D*" of Marlboro' seriously ownd & lamented 
to Sir J: Vanbrugli, that he c^ not part with half-a- 
crown, without Pain (T: from M" Bonfoy) 

He has been often seen during a Campain, & 
receivd Officers in his Tent, mending his old gloves 
himself (]VF W.) 

Bp Atterbury, while in France, lost much of the 
friendship he had once had for Pope, and has been 
heard to say, of him, that he was as crooked in mind 
as in body. He ownd that he could bear to read no 
other Historian of modern times, than Burnet; and 
s** there were many things in him, that were commonly 
lookd upon as Fictions, which to his own knowledge 
were very true. (T: from M" Morris^) 

that Pope in some verses which he suppressed made Marl- 
borough lament the loss of his son 

'In accents of a whining ghost.' 
This is a reminiscence of the words 

' Hear him, in accents of a pining ghost 
Sigh, with his captive, for his offspring lost ' — 
as the lines quoted by Gray are of the words 
' In vain a nation's zeal, a senate's cares. 
"Madness and Lust" (said God) "be you his heirs; 
O'er his vast heaps, in drunkenness of pride. 
Go wallow. Harpies, and your prey divide." ' 
(See Courthope's l'oj)e, vol. in. p. 87*3'.). 

1 Perhaps the Mr Morrice spoken of by Walpole {Short 
Notes of my Life, Letters, Cunningham, i. p. Ixx) as the 



284 GRAY. 

Atterbury, about the time of Q: Anne's death, 
offerd himself to the Ministry to go in his Episcopal 
ornaments to Charing-cross, & solemnly proclaim the 
Pretender there (M"" W: from Sir R W). The late 
Pr. of Wales had among his Papers, one given him by 
L*^ Bolingbroke containing a Scheme to govern with- 
out Parliament by getting the revenues settled on 
him for 5 years. He had a very great influence over 
the P"" for some time before he died. (M"" W. from 
the E of E — t, who had the Paper a good while in his 
own hands) 

Ld Egmont was never seen to laugh but once, & 
that was at Chess (the same). 

The late Ld Hervey asked the D. of Cleveland 
(an idiot) how his Ebony-dutchess did ? He an- 
swered him that an Ebony Lady was as good as an 
Ivory Lord. 

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ 

Tom Earle & others passing by H. Walpole's' 
house at Whitehall, saw a great Smoke come out of 
the Laundry below. " What the Devil " (says one of 

Bishop's grandson. Walpole said of Burnet ' It is observable, 
that none of his facts has been controverted, except his 
relation of the birth of the Pretender, in which he was 
certainly mistaken — but his very credulity is a proof of his 
honesty.' {Walpoliana, i. p. 22,) Perhaps he does but speak 
after Atterbury. 

1 The brother of Sir Robert — and afterwards Lord Walpole 
of Woolterton. 



COLLECTANEA AND CONJECTURES. 285 

them) " does Horace's Wife ever wash her Linnen ? " 
'No, no' says Earle, 'but she takes in other People's.' 

S"" E, W gave his brother Horace a little Horse for 
his Son to ride upon, but the boy not being big 
enough, or not caring to ride, the horse continued in 
Richmond Park a year or two, & when the present 
Ld Orford was grown up, of an age fit for it, Sir R* 
let him ride it. as soon as M''^ Walpole heard of it, 
she sent directly to demand the price of the Horse '. 

1 Here is the story as Hor. Walpole told it to Sir Horace 
Manu, [the date is noticeable, Oct. 8, 1742, when Walpole and 
Gray were estranged] : ' We expect some company next week 
from Newmarket: here is at present only Mrs Keene and Pig- 
wiggin — ^you never saw so agreeable a creature, — oh yes! you 
have seen his parents ! I must tell you a new story of them : 
Sir Robert had given them a little horse for Pigwiggin, and 
somebody had given them another ; both which, to save the 
charge of keeping, they sent to grass in Newpark [Richmond]. 
After three years that they had not used them, my Lord 
Walpole let his own son ride them, while he was at the Park, 
in the holidays. Do you know that the woman Horace sent 
to Sir Robert and made him give her five guineas for the two 
horses, because George had ridden them? I give you my 
word this is fact.' 

' Pigwiggin ', says Walpole, is the ' eldest son of old Horace 
Walpole.' ' He was afterwards the second Lord Walpole of 
Woolterton, and in 1806, at the age of eighty-three, created 
Earl of Orford. He died in 1809.' (Wright.) 

The miserable and malicious gossip of Walpole is only 
worth quoting, as showing how rehgiously Gray echoed him in 
social scandal. This is certainly the weak side of the poet's 
character. 



286 GRAY. 

Sir E,: W: us'd to say, that no Man ought to be 
first Minister, least he sh^ conceive too bad an opinion 
of Mankind. 

M"^^ Russell (by no means famd for her Wit) a 
Grand-daughter of Oliver Cromwell was dressing the 
Princess Amelia one 30*^ of January, when late Pr: of 
W: came in to her apartment & said, this is a day 
that every body ought to be at Church, & especially 
you, M''^ Russell, sh*^ be mortifying & doing penance 
S'' (says she) do you think it is not mortification 
enough for a descendant of 01. Cromwell's to be here 
pinning up your Sister's tail, (the same^) 

If Voltaire had stay'd longer in England, he would 
have been hangd for forging bank notes (M" from 
Warburton)^ 

******* 

In the D. of Bedfords gallery at Woburn is a 
Portrait of that Earl of Courteney, whom Q. Mary 
would have married, & who was supposed to have 
been in Love with Q. Elizabeth. He is a pale Man 
with a wild look, & red hair & beard, he was long 

' i.e. Horace Walpole. 

2 This is followed by an anecdote which it is quite impossi- 
ble to repeat, of Voltaire's conversation at Pope's table. The 
authorities for it are 'T: from Ld Bathurst & M" from 
Warburton'. It confirms the statement of Johnson, who 
probably heard the same story, that Voltaire 'talked with 
so much grossness that Mrs Pope was driven from the 
room.' 



COLLECTANEA AND CONJECTURES. 287 

in the Tower, & died at Padua, as was thought of 
Poison. 

The D of Bedford has a vohime of the Lady Rus- 
sells orig: letters, there are several to a D'" Fitzwil- 
liams soon after her Husbands death with his answers, 
wherein he tells her by way of Consolation that she 
ought to be thankful that Providence has separated 
her from a Man, who had dipped his hands in rebellion 
agst his Sovereign ;— a letter from her at the Revolu- 
tion to the same Clergyman, persuading him to take 
the oaths, tho' to no Purpose, for he gave up his Pre- 
ferments — a very elegant one to Tillotson, intreating 
him to accept the Arclib. of Canterbury (this will be 
publishd in his Life wrote by Birch) one of Q. Mary 
to L*''' Russell just before the battle of the Boyne 
expressing gxeat desire to have the matter soon de- 
cided &c. 

In the same gallery at Woburn are Portraits of 
two young Men. behind one of them is seen a 
Woman in a Labyrinth, behind the other a Man gnawd 
by Serpents & Monsters. In the family they are 
calld by the names of Polydore & Castalio, & said to 
have been Twin Sons of the 2d Earl of Bedford, they 
add that the youngest was mamed. (M"" W: from 
the D : & J)'' of Bedford) 

When Pope was senseless & dying, Ld Boling- 
broke stood by him, & broke into violent Exclama- 
tions & blasphemies agst Heaven, for suffering its 



288 GRAY. 

noblest, divinest Work to be reduced to such a 
wretched Condition. (M"" W from M"" Spence') 

After his death, & the discovery made of the 
Patriot Prince, printed & hid in a Cupboard, Ld B: 
made it his business to abuse & expose him. Among 
other things he said, that tlie story of steahng & 
printing Popes letters, was all a juggle, and that he 
had seen them long ago wrote out fair in a book, and 
ready for the Press'. (©■" Heb^ & M? from W— n) 

1 Spence appears to have toned down this anecdote at 
another time. " Spence says that Bohngbroke was greatly 
affected when Pope spoke of the suffering he experienced at 
not being able to think, and wept over him, exclaiming several 
times, interrupted by sobs, "0 great God, what is man?" 
(Courthope, Life of Pope, p. 344, referring to Spence's Anec- 
dotes p. 320.) 

- 'Bolingbroke had instructed Pope, in 1738, to have 
printed for him a few copies of "Letters on the Spirit of 
Patriotism, On the Idea of a Patriot King, and On the State 
of Parties." After Pope's death, Wright, a printer, brought 
and gave over to Bolingbroke an impression of fifteen hundred 
copies which the poet had ordered him to retain secretly. 
Pope had, according to Bolingbroke's account, " taken upon 
him further to divide the subject, and to alter or omit passages 
according to his own fancy." ' {Life of Pope, pp. 346, 347.) 
How Curll was tricked by Pope into publishing his corre- 
spondence is told by Mr Courthope at length in the Life of 
Pope, pp. 283—290. 



COLLECTANEA AND CONJECTURES. 289 



CONJECTURAL READINGS ON SHAKESPEARE, 
Theobald, ed. 1740. 

The followiug readings are annotated with the help of 
the Cambridge Shakespeare, because it seems probable that 
War bur ton derived some of the conjectures he put forward 
as his own, from Gray. Warburton said of Hanmer, 
'Having a number of my Conjectures before him, he took 
as many as he saw fit to work upon, and by changing 
them to something he thought synonimous or similar, he 
made them his own.' He had himself, I believe, already 
dealt with Gray in the same fashion, and perhaps accused 
Hanmer of stealing that from him, which he had himself 
stolen from another. The slight differences between 
Gray's suggestions and Warburton's prevent our sup- 
posing that Gray was simply transcribing his annotations; 
to say nothing of the fact that he had no high opinion of 
the man whom in a letter to John Chute (the proper date 
of which is July 1742) lie calls 'a very impudent fellow.' 
Again, one of these conjectures, that on Merry Wives v. 5. 
49, is certainly Gray's ; at least it finds no place in the 
Cambridge Shakespeare, and may be supposed to be quite 
new to the world. These notes perhaps belong to 1742. 
The Oxford edition of Shakespeare (Hanmer's) was first 
published in 1744; that of Warburton (Pope and War- 
burton) in 1747. 

P. 12. In Ant: Pegafetta's voyage round the 
World with Magellan, he says the Giants of Pata- 
gonia call the chief of the Demons Setabos (sic) and 
the inferior one Cheleule. see Ramusio 1. 353. 

[See Dr Aldis Wright's note, Tempest, i. 2. 350 (Clar. 
Press Series).] 

G. 19 



290 GRAY. 

P. 31. This ancient morsel, this Sir Prudence.... 
1. moral. 

[Act II. 1. 277. Warburton also conj. Moral.'] 

P. 54. Harmonious charmingl}^ 1. charming 

lays. 

[IV. 118, 119 

Fer. ' This is a most majestic vision, and 
Harmonious charmingly, 

charming lay Haiimer. charming lays Warburton.] 

P. 72. Your words I'll catch 1, yours would 

[I catch]. 

[M. N. D. I. 1. 185, 186 

Sickness is catching : 0, were favour so 
Your words I catch fair Hermia, ere I go 

So QQ and F^. Ide F2F3F4. Yours would I Hanmer.] 

P. 86, The middle summer spring 1. that. 

[M. N, D, II, 1, 82 

And never, since the middle summer's spring 
Met we on hill, in dale, forest or mead &c, 

that Hanmer (Warburton),] 

P, 87, The human mortals want their Winter 

here 1. harried i.e. celebrated. 

[M. N, D, II, 1. 101. 

Winters heryed. Warburton.] 

P. 114. Opening on Neptune with fair blessed 

beams 1. far-blessing. 

[M. N. D. III. 2. 392. 

far-blessing Hanmer (Warburton).] 



COLLECTANEA AND CONJECTURES. 291 

P. 128. That is hot ice, and wondrous strange 

snoiv. 1. a shew. 

[M. K D. V. L 59. 

a wondroiis strange shew. Warburton.] 

P. 238. Tliis Punk is one 1. Pink. 

[Merry Wives ii. 2. 123 

This Punk is one of Cupid's carriers. 
pink Warburton.] 

P. 215. Try'd game 1. cry'd aim! 

[Wives II. Sc. 3. 79, 80 

1 will bring thee where Mistress Anne Page is, at a 
farm-house a feasting; and thou shalt woo her. Cried 
game (Q^ Qo) said I well \ 

Cried-Game Ff.Qj. Try\l game Theobald. Cry aim. 
Warburton. Cried I aim? Dyce (Douce conj.) and modern 
editors generally.] 

P. 281. Raise up the organs 1. rein. 

[Wives V. 5. 47 sq. 

Go you, and where you find a maid 

That, ere she sleep, has thrice her prayers said, 
Eaise up the organs of her fantasy; 
Sleep she as sound as careless infancy.] 

P. 299. Leavend choice 1. levelld. 

[Measure for Measure i. 1. 52 

We have with a leaven'd and prepared choice 

Proceeded to you. 
prepar'd and leceVd Warburton.] 



19—2 



SECTION IX. 
LATIN POEMS. GRAY. 



SECTION IX. 
LATIN POEMS. 

1. From the Greek. 

Fertur Aristophanis fatorum arcana rogatuni 

tempore sementis, rusticus isse domum ; 
(Sideris au felix tempestas, messis an esset 

magna, vel agricolam falleret ustus ager) 
Ille supercilio adducto multa anxius arte 

disposuit sortes, consuluitque Deos : 
Turn responsa dedit: vernus suffecerit imber 

Si modo, nee fruges Isserit herba nocens; 
Si mala robigo, si grando pepercerit arvis, 

attulerit subitum pigra nee aura gelu; 
Caprea si nulla, aut culmos attriverit hfedus; 

nee fuerit caelum, nee tibi terra gravis: 
Largas poUiceor segetes, atque horrea plena. 

tu tamen, ut^ veniat sera locusta, cave. 

[Pembroke Common Place Bks.] 

2. [Imitated from the Greek] of Bassus. 

Non ego, cum malus urit amor, lovis induor arma 

nil mihi cum plumis, nil mihi cum corio : 
Non ego per tegulas mittor liquefactus in aurum 
promo duos obolos : sponte venit Danae. 

lb. 
1 Sic. 



296 GRAY. 

3. Oh ubi colles, ubi Ffesularum 
Palladis curse, plaga, Formiffiq 
Prodigae florum, Genuajque amantes 

Littora soles? 
Abstulit campos oculis amoenos 
Montium quantus, nemorumque tractus ! 
Quot natant eheu niedii profundo 

Marmore fluctus! 

Pemb. Common Place Bks. i. 381. 
Not dated, but obviously written after his 
return from the continent in 1741 ^, 

4. On p. 83 vol. iii. of Mitford's Mss. is a MS. Poem 
which has no other description or designation, but which 
seems, from the place in which it is found, to be Gray's. 
Compare the English Poem of West on p. 109. The Latin 
may also be West's ; it is obviously in the rough. 

Gratia magna tu£e fraudi quod Pectore, Nice, 

Non gerit hoc ultra regna superba Venus : 
Respirare licet tandem misero mihi, tandem 

Appensa in sacro pariete vincla vides 
Numquam uror; liber sum: crede doloso 

Suppositus Cineri non latet uUus amor. 
Prsesto non ira est, cujus se celet amictu; 

Sera, sed et rediit vix mihi nota quies. 
Nee nomen si forte tuum pervenit ad aures 

Pallor et alternus surgit in ore rubor, 
Corda nee incerto trepidant salientia pulsu 

Irrigat aut furtim lacryma fusa genas. 
Non tua per somnos crebra obversatur imago 

Non animo ante omnes tu mihi mane redis. 
Te loquor; at tener ille silet sub pectore sensus 

Nee quod ades laetor ; nee quod abes doleo. 

1 It is an echo of the stanza beginning 'Horridos tractus 
<tc.' prefixed to letter to West from Genoa Nov. 21, 1739. 



LATIN POEMS. 297 

Eivalem tacitus patior; securus eburnea 

Quin ego colla simul laudo, manusque tuas. 
Longa nee indignans refero perjuria: prodis 

Obvia, mens certa sede colorque manet. 
Quin faciles risus, vultusque assume superbos; 

Spernentem sperno, nee cupio facilem. 
Nescit ocellorum, ut quondam 23enetrabile fulgur 

Ah! nimium molles pectoris ire vias; 
Nee tam dulce rubent illi, mea cura, labelli^ 

juris lit immemores imperiique sui. 
Lastari possum, possum et mffirere; sed a te 

gaudia nee veniunt, nee veuiunt lacrymae. 
Tecum etiam nimii Soles, <fe frigora laedunt; 

Vera suo sine te prata nemusque placent. 
Pulchra quidem facies, sed non tua sola videtur 

(forsitan offendam rustieitate mea) 
Sed quiddam invenies culpandum, qua mihi uuper 

parte est pnecipue visus inesse lepor. 
Cum primiim evulsi fatale ex vulnere telum 

Credebam, ut fatear, viscera et ipsa trahi; 
Luctanti rupere (pudor) suspiria pectus, 

tinxit et invitas plurima gutta genas. 
Aspera difficilem vicit Medicina furorem; 

ille dolor savus, sed magis asper Amor 
Aucupis insidiis, et arundine capta tenaci 

sic multo nisu vincula rupit avis ; 
Plumarum laceros reparat breve tempus honores 

nee cadit in similes cautior inde dolos. 
Tu tamen usque illam tibi fingis vivere flammam 

Et male me veteres dissimulare faces. 
Quod libertatem ostento, fractamq: Catenam, 

tantus et insolitas pacis in ore sonus, 
Prffiteritos meminisse jubet natura dolores; 

quae quisque est passus, dulce pericla loqui. 
Enumerat miles sua vulnera ; navita ventos 

Narrat & incautas saxa inimica rati ; 

1 Sic. 



298 GEAY. 

Sic ego seivitium durum, & tua regua. laborant 
Nice nuUam a te quaerere dicta fidem : 

Nil nimium hsec maudata student tibi velle placere, 
Nee rogito quali i^erlegis ore notas. 

5. After some Latin Alcaics signed ' Antrobus ' comes 
in the 3rd volume of Mitford's Excerpts a Latin translation 
of Philips's ' Splendid Shilling,' to which he does not assign 
the authorship. 

Oh! nimium felix! cura et discordibus armis 
Cui procul exigua non deficiente Crumena 
Splendet adhuc Solidus. non ilium torquet egentem 
Ostriferi Cantus, non allae^ dira Cupido. 
lUe inter Socios gelido sub vespere notum 
Tendit iter, genialis ubi se Curia pandit 
Juniperive Lares 2; hie Nympham, si qua protervo 
Lumine pertentat Sensus, uritque videndo 
(Sive Chloe, seu Phillis amanti gratior audit) 
Alternis recolit cyatbis, tibi, virgo, salutem 
Lsetitiamque optans, et amoris mutua vincla 
Nee minus interea fumique jocique benignus 
Non lateri parcit, si quando argutior alter 
Fabellam orditur lepidam, vel Scommata spargit 
Ambiguosve Sales, festiva Crepundia vocum. 

6. "The following Poem is written with Ink by Mason 
over Gray's Pencil, which was very faint, in order ap- 
parently to preserve it. N.B. Gray's writing perceptible 
below the Ink-letters." (Mitford.) 

1 Explained by a reference to the original 

...'he nor hears with pain 
New oysters cried, nor sighs for cheerful ale.' 

- ' To Juniper's Magpie or Town-ball repairs.' Two ale- 
houses at Oxford. 



LATIN POEMS. 299 

Vah, tenero quodcunque potest obsistere amori 

Exulet ex animo & Delia cara meo 
Ne timor infelix, mala ne fastidia sancti 

Gaiidia distineant, Delia cara, tori 
Quid si nulla olim regalia munera nostras 

Ornarunt titulis divitiisque domes? 
At nobis proprioque et honesto lumine Claris 

Ex meritis ortum nobile nomeu erit. 
Dum tauto colimus virtutem ardore volabit 

Gloria dulce sonans nostra per era virum. 
Interea uostram mirata Superbia famam 

Talis splendoris tantum habuisse gemet 
Quid si Diva potens nummorum divitis auri 

Hand largo nostras i^roluit imbre Lares? 
At nobis erit ex humili bona copia sensu 

Vitaque non luxu splendida, lata tamen 
Sic horas per quisque suas revolubilis annus 

Nostra quod explerit vota precesque dabit 
Nam duce natura peragemus, Delia, vitam 

Vita ea vitalis dicier una potest. 
Et juvenes et amore senes florebimus sequo 

Et vitiB una alacres conficiemus iter 
Nostros interea ornabit pax alma Penates 

lucundum Pueri piguora cara torum 
Oh quanta aspicerem lepidam dulcedine gentem 

Luderet ad patrium dum pia turba genu 
Maternos vultu ridenti effingere vultus 

Balbo maternos ore referre sonos 
lamque senescentes cum nos insederit ^tas 

Nostraque se credat surripuisse bona 
In vestris tu rursus amabere pulchra puellis 

Eui-sus ego in pueris Delia amabo meis. 

"N.B. The above is a free translation of Gilbert 
Cowper's Ode, 'Away let nought to Love displeasing.' 
See Essay on Taste p. 97." (Mitford.) 



300 GRAY. 

We may conjecture that it is an early effort. Nothing 
but immaturity can account for some peculiarities in it ; 
' vestris ' for example in the last line but one. 

7. Early Alcaics op Gray. 

Tecta, Mentis dulcis amor mese 
Oh! summa Sancti Eelligio loci 
Quae me laborantem perurit 
Sacra fames, et amicus ardor? 
Praeceps volentem quo rapit impetus ! 
Ad limen altum tendo avidas manus 
Dum lingua frustratur i^recantem 
Cor taciturn mihi clamat intus 
lUic loquacem composuit domum 
Laresque parvos Numinis in fidem 
Prassentioris credit ales 

Veris amans, vetus Hospes aras: 
Beatus ales ! sed magis incola 
Quem vidit sedes ante [focos Dei i] 
Cultu ministrantem perenni 
Quique sacra requievit umbra 
Bis terque felix qui melius Deo 
Templum sub imo Pectore consecrat 
Huic vivida affulget voluptas 
Et liquidi sine nube Soles, 
Integriori fonte fluentia 
Mentem piorum gaudia recreant 
Quod si datur lugere, quiddam 
Dulce ferens venit ipse luctus 
Virtute virtus pulchrior evenit 
Nascente semper, semper amabili 
jEterna crescit, seque in horas 
Subjiciet per aperta cjeli. 

1 [An erasure here, he seems certainly to have written 
'focos'.] 



LATIN POEMS. 301 

Me, dedicatum qui Genus, et tu^ 
Iudffi£e habenas tempero, Regio 
Madens olivo, dexter audi 
Nee libeat reijulisse^ Eegem 
Lux uua Sanctis quae foribus dedit 
Hferere, amatte limine lanu;* 
Lux inter extremas Columnas 
Candidius mihi ridet una 
Quam Seculorum Secula Barbaros 
Inter Penates sub trabe gemmea 
Fastus tyrannorum brevesque 
Delicias et amcena Regni ; 
Feliciori flumine Copiam 
Pronaque dextra Cselicolum Pater 
Elargietur, porrigetque 
Divitias diuturniores. 

The above is the 84th Psalm. (Mitford.) 

[N.B. The above ode is written in Mr Gray's Hand ; 
but evidently when young, the hand being unformd and 
like a schoolboys, tho' very plain & careful. The Leaf on 

which it is written, apparently torn from a Copy-book 

Some of the expressions resemble those in the Gr. Char- 
treuse Ode. (Mitford.)] 

1 Sic. 



INDEX. 



Abelaid, 209 

Abercorn, 262 

Achilles, 2.55 

Addison's Cato, 157 

Agnano, lake of, 237 

' Agrippina,' Gray's; part of 

first scene sent to West, and 

West's criticism thereon, 

157 sq., 160; 'laid to sleep,' 

163 
Agrippina Minor, sepulchre 

of, 246 
Albani, Card., 56 
Alexandre, M., 148 and n. 
Allen, 280, 281, 282 and ns.; 

Mrs Allen, 281 
' Almanzor,' 80 n. 
Alnwick, 265 
Altieri, Card., 50 
Amiens, 204 
Amyaud, Miss, (Mrs Ashton), 

171 n. 
Anguier, 205 
Annan, 260 

Anne, Czarina, 51 and n. 
Anstey, 20 

Antoninus, wall of, 262 
Appia, Via, 223, 227 sq. 
Arco Felice, the, 249 
Argyle, Duke of, 278 
Aristotle, 154 
Arpino, 233 



Ashton. 'Plato,' 2, 81 n.; 
' Thomas of Lancashire, ' 
80; Fellow of King's &c., 
3 and n. ; Tutor to Lord 
Plymouth, 4 n., 102; con- 
nected with the quarrel be- 
tween Gray and Walpole, 
8 — 10; wrote against Cou- 
yers Middleton, 13 and n. ; 
Walpole's Poetical Epistle 
to Ashton, 13; 'in love,' 
125 ; ordination, 3 n. 1, 149 
n., 163 n. 2; j^^'efcrment, 
170 n. ; marriage, ib. ; 
verses on the death of West, 
171; death at Bath, 1775, 
p. 13 

Atterbury, Bp, 283, 284 

Aulus Gellius, 166 

Aversa (Atella), 231 

Baiie, bay of, 241 
Baiae, castle of, 246 
Bamborough Castle, 264 
Banks, sculptor, 175 
Barbaro, M., 241 and n. 
Barnard, Dr, offers Ashton an 

appointment at Eton, 102 
Bassus, imitation from the 

Greek of, 295 
Bath, Lord, 278 
Bedford, D. of, 286, 287 



304 



INDEX. 



Belford, 264 

Benedict XIV., Pope, 50 n. 

Benedictines, English, 200 

Benevoli, 177 

Bentley, Dr, 78 

Bergerac, Cyrano de — 'your 

conceptions of Paradise a 

little upon the Bergerac,' 

162 
Berriman, Dr, 72, 75 
Berwick, 264 
Beverley, 190 
Blakeway, 190 and n. 1 
Blount, Martha, 280, 281, 282 

and notes 
Blundel, 'Nanny,' 125 
Boileau, 49 and n., 155 
Bolingbroke, Lord, 140, 280, 

283, 284, 287 ; 288 and notes 
Bonnington-Linn, 261 
Books, Dialogue of, 154 — 156 
Bordone, Sebastian, 207 
Bordone, Paris, 222 
Borgonone, 218 
Borrowstonness, 262 
Boscawen, Admiral, 200 n. 
Bougeant, le P^re, 129 and n. 
Brockett, 185, 189, 190 n. 2, 

191 
Brooke. His ' Gustavus Vasa ' 

(prohibited), 43 and n.; 123, 

129, 130 ; ' Fool of Quality,' 

43 n. 
Broschi, (Carlo), see Farinelli 
Broukhusius, his blunders on 

Propertius, 164; 166 
Brown's estimate, 22 
Brown, Lady, 181 
Brown, Master of Pembroke, 

says of Gray ' he never 

spoke out,' 21 
Bruno, St, Life of, painted 

by Le Sueur, '208 
Bruyere (la), 121 and n., 155, 

271 



Bryant, letter of Kemiuis- 
cences, 83 n.; 159 n. ; 272 

Buonarotti, see Michael An- 
gela 

Burnet, Bp, West's grand- 
father, 15 ; allusion to his 
History of his own Time, 
69; Atterbury on, 283 

Burnet, Sir Thomas, judge. 
West's uncle, 142 and n., 
172 ; Ashton's verses attri- 
buted to him, 172 

Bussy-Rabutin, 155 

Bute, Lord, 185 

Byng's loss of Minorca, 23 

Cassar, quoted, 213 sq. ; bust 
of, 207 

Camerelle, Cento, 247 

Campagna, 222 

Campana, Via, 249 

Cangiari, 234 

Capua, 230 

Caravaggio, 234 

Carlisle, Lord, 278 

Carlisle, siege of, 279 

Carnarvon, James Brydges, 
Marq. of, marries Miss 
Margaret Nichol, 180 

Caroline, Queen, 89 n.; death, 
108 ; West's Monody on her 
death, 110—114 ; 278, 279 

Cartagena, 178 and n. 

Caryl, appeals against admis- 
sion of Trant as Proctor, 66 

Castalio, 182 

Castalio and Polydore, 287 

'Cato,' Addison's, model for 
the English stage, 157 

Catullus, quoted, 124, 167 ; 
translated, 167, 168 

Cenis, Mt, 133 

Cento Camerelle, the, 247 

Certosa, the, '232 

Chalons- sur-Saone, 209 



INDEX. 



SOI 



Charles V., portrait by Titian, 

219 
Chartrcux, at Paris, 208 
Cheleule, 289 
(Jhesterlield, Lord, (to his 

Godson), 91 u. ; 'never 

coughs,' 279 
Chetardie, Marquis de la, 51 

and n. 
Cheyne, 155 

Chiaia, the, 235, 258 sq. 
Chiron, 255 

Cholmondeley, Lord, 278 
Chute, Chaloner, Speaker ; re- 
cumbent figure by Banks, 

175 
Chute, John, account of, by 

Mr Chaloner W. Chute, 175, 

176 
Cibo, 49 

Cicero quoted, 143, 144 n. 
Claude, 207 
Claudian, part of 2nd Georgic 

Hke, 130 
Claudius, 211, 212 
Clavering, Mrs, 199 
Clement XII., Pope, 50 n. 
Cleveland, Duke of, 284 
Cleveland, novel by the Abbe 

I'revost d'Exiles, 135 and n. 
Clouet, 19 

Cobham, Lord, 195, 197 n. 
Cobham, Lady, 195, 197 and 

n., 198—200 
Cocchi, Dr, 177 and n. 
Coke upon Littleton, a bulky 

volume, 144 and n. 2 
Colascione, sort of lute, 258 
Coldstream, 264 
Cole, quoted, 11, 94 n. 
Compton (see Wilmimiton) 
Conway, Hon. H. B., 6, 39, 40 

and n. 
Conway, Lord, 40 and n., 44; 
fall from his horse, 67; 'cue 



G. 



of the prettiest persons a- 

bout town,' 130 
Cornhill, 264 
Correggio, 205, 218 
Corr-house-Linn, 261 
Corsini, 49, 50, 56 
Cortona, Pietro di, 205, 207 
Coscia, 50 
Cough, West's Latin verses on 

his, 158; 'the first whoever 

made a Muse of a cough,' 

159 
Courtenay, Earl of, portrait 

at Woburn, 286, 287 
Coustou, 205 
Coventry, Henry, 81 n, 
Cowper's, Gilbert, 'Away let 

nought &c.' trausl., 299 
Coypel, 205 
Coysevox, 205 
Crane, Mr, the 'Apothecary,' 

199 
Crebillon, (the younger), Gray's 

liking for, '20, 160; 'Letters,' 

129 and n. 
Cromwell (Henry), correspon- 
dent of Pope, 164 
Cromwell, Oliver, 286 
Cuma (Cum.-c), 243, 248 
Cuiil, 137 and n., 288 n. 
Czarina, Anne, 51 and n. 

Dalhousie, 263 
Dalkeith, 263 
Damer, Mrs, 40 n. 
Davidson, Mr, of Nanver, 279 
d'ElbcjBuf, Prince, 253 
Denmark, K. and Q. of, 277 
'De Principiis Cogitandi' — 

Gray's, 139 n. 
Despauterius, 38 and n. 
Dettingen, battle of, 279 
Diana's temple, 246 
Dick, Mrs, 176 
Dijon, 208 

20 



306 



INDEX, 



Dodd, 94 and n. (perhaps 
'Tydeus') 

Dolci, Carlo, 207 

Doneraile, Lord, 279 

Douza, James, Dutch i^oet 
compared by Glover to So- 
phocles, 136 

Drum, 263 

Drumlanrig, 261 

Drusus, 211 

Dryburgh, 264 

Dryden, 162 

Duck, Stephen, the Thresher- 
poet, 89 and n., Ill 

Duclos, historian, 182 n. 

Duddiston, 263 

Dumay, 271 

Dumbarton, 262 

Dmneuil, actress, 43, 44 and n. 

Dumfries, 260 

Dunbar, Lord, 52 

Dunciad, 86 n., 93 and n.; 
4th Book or 'New Duuciad,' 
156 and n., 159 

Duns Scotus, 93 

Durham, 264 

Earle, Tom, 284, 285 
Edgar the Peaceable, 134 
Edinburgh, 262, 263 
Egmont, Lord, 284 
Elizabeth, Queen, 286 
Emily, Princess, 279 
Ennius, 161 

Erskine, Sir Henry, 185 
Euripides (fragm. ), quoted, 139 

and n. 
Evan Evan, 190 
Ewer, 72, 76 

Falkirk, 262 

Earinelli, 65 and n. 2 

Fenton, Mr, 46 

Fielding, 20; 'Joseph Andrews' 



criticised by Gray, 159, 160; 

162 
Fitzroy, Col., Lord George 

Sackville's letter to, 200 
Fitzwilliams, Dr, 287 
Fleurs, 264 
Fleury, Cardinal, name given 

to Sir E. Walpole, 115 and 

n. 
Florence, 140, 216 sq. 
Fondi, 229 
Fontana, 260 
Foulis, Mr, 262 
Fourviere, Mt, 131, 132 
Frate, II, 218 
Frederic, Prince of Wales — 

Marriage, Epithalamia, &c., 

70 and n. 2, 71 ; 277, 279, 

284 
Frederick the Great, 199 and 

n. 1 

Gaeta, Bay of, 229 

Garigliano (Liris), 230 

Garrick, Gray and Walpole 
depreciate, 20 

Geneva, 213 sq. 

George II., 38 n., 277, 279 

George III., christening of, 38 
and n. 

Gibbon, on the 'Alliance of 
Education and Govern- 
ment,' 29 

Gibbons, Grinling, carvings 
at Hamilton Palace, 261 

Gibson, Bp of London, con- 
troversy with Whitetield, 
131 n. 

Gigante, temple del, 249 sq. 

Giordano, Luca, 207, 218 

Giorgone, 222 

Girardon, 206, 207 

Glasgow, 261, 262 

'Glaucias,' West's name for 
Gray, 133 and u. 



INDEX. 



807 



Glover, Richard, his 'Leon- 
idas,' 91, 95; his 'London,' 
136; nephew of Lord Chan- 
cellor West, presents his 
portrait to Inner Temple 
Hall, ih. n. 
Goethe, 2G n. 
Goldsmith, Walpole's jndf;- 

ment of, 21 
Gotto, Cardinal, 50 
Graham, Eev. Mr, 2G0 
Graham's Dyke, 2fi2 
Granville, Lord, 278, 279 
Gray, quarrel with Walpole 
and reconciliation, 7-12, 
151 n.; 'Thomas of London,' 
80; 'Orosmades,' ib. n. 1, 
138; 'Glaucias,' 133 and 
n. ; goes to Venice with 
Chute and Whithed, 151 n. 
Gray, Mrs, 4, 5, GO n. 4 
Greco, Torre del, 252 
Green, Edward, 73, 75, 76 
Gresset, 26 
Grotta, at Naples, 235, 236, 

237 
Grotta del Cane, 238 
Grotta, Sibyl's, 242, 243, 250 
Guercino, 205, 207, 222, 224 
Guido, 205, 206, 207, 224, 225, 

234, 235 
Gweddi'r Hwsmon, 275 

Haddock, Admiral, 53 and n., 

136 
Haddock, Commissioner, 177 
Halsey, Edmund, 197 n. 
Handel, 136 
Hanmer, Sir Thomas, 289, 

290 
Hawley, defeat at Falkirk, 23 
Hawthornden, 263 
Hearne, 'Time and Thomas,' 

108 
Helvetii, 211, 213 



Herculanenm, 253 sq. 

Herodotus, 134 and n. 

Hervey, Lord, 278, 284 

Hinchinbroke, 191 n. 

Hockrell (Hockeril), 94 and n. 

Holy Island, 264 

Holyrood House, 262, 263 

Hopton-House, 262 

Horace, West's translation 
(of Carm. i. 5), 101; lost 
parody by West of Carm. iv. 
4, p. 83 n. ; quotations from, 
82, 126, 129; part of 2 Geor- 
gic like Horace, 136 ; 242 

Hyndford, Earl of, 261 

Inarime, 248 

Invalides, the, 205 

Ischia, 248 

Islay, Lord, 278, 279, 280 n. 1 

James II., 206 

Johnson and Gray, 20; Wal- 
pole's judgment of Johnson, 
ib. ; Johnson on Voltaire, 
286 n. 

Juvenal, part of 2 Georgic like, 
136 

Kelso, 264 

Lanark, 261 

Lane, Mr, 72, 73, 75, 76 

Lanfranco, 235 

Le Brun, 206 

Lekenfield, 190 

Lewis, Hon. Mrs, Preface, ix ; 
her kindness to Mrs G. , 57 

Liddel, 177 

Llandyfry, Vicar of, 275 

Locke, 75, 155 

Lomond, Loch, 262 ; Ben Lo- 
mond, ib. 

Long Story, 195, 197 

Lorraine, sec Claude 



308 



INDEX. 



Louis Onze, (of Duclos), 182 

and 11. , 183 
Lowell, Mr, quoted, 25 
Lowther, Sir James, 190 n. 2, 

279 
Lubhard, 150 
Lueriue lake, 242 
Luther, so-called portrait of, 

by Giorgoue, 222 
Luxembourg, the, 205 
Lyons, 131, 211, 212 
Lyttelton, Charles, 102 

Macaulay, quoted, 22 
Mackenzie's 'Man of Feeling,' 

144 n. 
Magellan, 289 
'Man of Feeling,' Mackenzie's, 

144 n. 
Mann, Galfridus, 170 and n. 
Mann, Horace, 175, 176 
Mansart, 205 
Maratti, Carlo, 221 
Marcellus (Nonius). ICG n. 2 
Mare Mortuum, 247 
Marino, San, 224 
Marivaux, Gray's liking for, 

160 
Marlborough, D. of, 282 and 

n. 2, 283 
Martial (transl. from), 78; 

part of 2 Georg. like, 136; 

quoted, 229 
Mary Magdalene, West's ode 

to, 83, 84 
Mary, Queen, daughter of 

Henry VIH., 286 
Mary, Queen, daughter of 

James II. , 287 
Mason, sayingof his atti'ibuted 

to Gray, 33 n. ; dictates 

note, 190; 270, 277 n. 
Matthias quoted, 21 
Melrose, 263 
Menage, 271 



Mercato di Sabbato, 248 

Mercurio, Truglio di, 246 

Merlin's Cave, 89 n.. Ill 

Methuen, Lord, 278 

Meux, 190 

Michael Angelo, 233 

Middleton, Conyers, 13, 78,135 

Milton (paraphrased), 116; 162 

Minden, battle of, 199 n. 3 

Minotaur, the, 256 

Minturnfc, 230 

Miseno, 232, 247 

Mitford, Preface ; designs to 
collect West's Remains, &c., 
13 

Mola (Formins), 229, 230 

Montagu, George, 46 and n., 
48, 81 n. 

Montorsoli, Fra Giovanni di, 
259 

More, Henry, 155 

Morpeth, 264 

Morrice, Mr, 283 and n. 

Munatius Plancus, 211 ; monu- 
ment, ib. and 230 

Murray, 52, 280 

Naples, 231 sq., 257 sq. 

Netherby, 260 

Nevis, Ben, 262 

Newbattle, 263 

Newcastle, 264 

Newcastle, Duke of, 278 

Newcome, Mrs, wife of Rich- 
ard, Bp of Llaudaff from 
1755 to 1761, p. 276 

Newton, 71 

Nicliol, Margaret,180; engaged 
to be married to Mr Whithed, 
180 ; marries Marq. of Car- 
narvon, 181 

Nicholls, Norton, 121 n., 270 
n., 272 

Nisida, 240, 241 

Nonius Marcellus, 166 n. 2 



INDEX. 



309 



Norham Castle, 2G4 
Norwich, Bp of, 280 
Notre Dame, 205 
Nuovo, M., 241 and n. 

' Orosmades,' Gray, 80 n. 1 
Ossian, Macpherson's, H3 
Ovid ; West compares him with 
Tibullus, 87 ; passage in 
Georg. 2 like Ovid, 138 

Palais Eoyal, 204 

Pannini, Paolo, 207 

Paris, described, 3<», 40; 204 sq. 

ParmcRRiano, 2l!>, 220 

Partus Virginis, Church of the, 
259 

Pastor Fido (Guarini's), lost 
version of a scene in, 117 

'Pausanias,' West's, 131) and 
n., 150, 151 

Pausilipo, 232, 235, 259 

Pegafetta, 289 

Pelham, Rt. Hon. Henry, 13G 
and n. 

Percy, Thos., 189, 190 

Perriere, Baron de la or 

Peyriere, 19G 

Perriere, Mad. de la (Miss 
Speed), 195—200 

Petronius, 240 

Philip II., portrait by Titian, 
220 

Philips', John, 'Splendid Shil- 
ling,' version of, 298 

Phrygians 7iot Phoenicians the 
oldest nation, 134 n. 

Pia7,za, Walpole's 'Italian,' 72 

Piozzi, Mrs, 272 

Piperno, chmissure of peasants 
at, 227 

Piscina Mirabilis, 248 

Pitt, Earl of Chatham, 23; 
speech on proposing a monu- 
ment to Wolfe, 24 ; 278 



Pitti, Palazzo, 216 sq. 

'Plato,' see Ash ton 

Plymouth, Lord, Preface ix, 
4 n. 1, 45, 54 and n, 

Polleri, 178, 179 

Polydore and Castalio, picture 
at Wohurn, 287 

'Polyglot,' Mr, (West), 108 

Poj^e's letter to Steele, para- 
phrased by West, 95 ; letters 
between Pope and Cromwell, 
164; burlesque by West of 
Pope's verses on his Grotto, 
163 ; Gray on, 270 ; ib. n. 2, 
280, 281, 282 and notes, 283, 
286 n., 287, '288 and notes 

Pope, Mrs, 286 n. 

Portia, Card., 49, 50 

Portici, 251 

Porto Bello, 53 and n. 

Poseidippus, translation of, by 
West, 104 

Poulet, Lord W. ('elephant' 
for ' equivalent '), 178 and n. 

Poussin, 161, 205 

Pozzuoli, 236, 240 

'Prato,' nickname, 125 

Pretender, the old, 52 and n., 
280 

Prevost (d'Exiles) Abbt', his 
'Cleveland,' 135 and n. 

Princess of Wales, 279 

Prinsep, 'Quid,' 72—77, 80, 
82, 85 

Prochyta 
or 

Procita, 248 

Propertius, imitation of, by 
West, 127; Gray's version, 
sent to West, 163 ; criticised 
by West, 164 

Prussia, Frederick the Great, 
King of, 199 and u. 

Psamnietichus, his experi- 
ment, 134 n. 



810 



INDEX. 



Puffendorff, 105; (nickname), 

125 
Pulteney (Lord Bath), 278, 

279 n. 
Puntormo, 234 

Quakers, Asliton imitates their 
style, 130 sq. and u. 

Eacine, 157 
Eamusio, 289 
Eaphael, 205, 220, 222 
Eeed, Isaac, his account of 

the quarrel between Gray 

and Walpole, 8, 9 
Eeggio, 58 n. 2, 150, 151 n. 
Eheims, 131 sq. 
Ehone and Saone, junction of, 

131 
Eicciarelli, 207 
Eichelieu, Card., 204 
Eizzio, 263 
Eoberts, Mr, of the Pell office, 

his account of the quarrel 

between Gray and Walpole, 

8, 9 
Eogers, account of Gray, 19 
Eon sard, 157 
Eosalba, 180 
Eose Castle, 260 
Eosso, II, 219 
Eosslin, 263 
Eousseau, 25 
Eubens, 205, 218, 222 
Eussell, Lady, 287 
Eussell, Mrs, 286 

Sackville, Lord George, 199 

and n. 2 
Salvator Eosa, 218 
Salviati, 212 

Sandwich, Lord, 190 n. 2 
Sannazarius, 259 
Santa Croce, Girolamo, 259 
Saone, junction with Ehone 

described by Gray, 131 



Sarazin, 206 

Sarto, Andrea del, 220, 221 

Savoy, Charles Emmanuel D. 
of, his road, 134 

Scotus, Duns, 93 

Selwyn, George, 23, 46 and 
n., 48 

Sermoneta, 226 

Setebos, 289 

S^vigne, Mad. de, 154 

Sezza (Setia), 226 

Shaftesbury, quoted, 89 

Shakespeare, West on the im- 
itation of, 157, 161 ; emend- 
ations on the text of, in 
Gray's writing, 289—291 

Sibyl's Grotto, 242, 243, 250 

Silius Italicus quoted, 225, 
226, 227 

Smollett's Eoderick Eandom, 
account of expedition to 
Cartagena, 178 n. 

Solfatara, the, 240 

Somma, Monte di, 251 

Spa, 177 

Spagnuoletto, 234 

Spaniards, engaged on Her- 
culaneum, 253 

Spectator, 272 

Speed, Colonel, 195 

Speed, Miss Henrietta Jane, 
195-200 

Spence, 151 n., 288 and n. 

Stair, Lord, 279 

Statins, Gray's translation, 
69, 70; Statins compared 
with Georg. 2, p.l38 ; quoted, 
228, 253 

St Denys, 204 

Steele, Pope to, paraphrased 
by West, 95 sq. 

Stirling, 262 

Story, the Long, 197 

St Sulpice, 206 

Stuart, see Pretender 



INDEX. 



311 



'Sublime,' West to Ashton on 

the, 145—148 
Sueur, Le, 208 
Sunderland, Lord, 278 
Swift, 155 
Syiin)honij's affair, 54, 55 

Tacitus. West finds 'Pan- 

noniau sedition' a little 

tedious, 156; 157, 158, 159; 

translates speech of Ger- 

manicus, 103 
Tatler, 272 
Taverner, Mr, of Woodeaton, 

67 
Terracina, 228, 229 
Thermae of Nero, 244 
Theseus, 256 

Tliistlethwayte. See Whithed 
Tibullus, West's favourite 

elegiac poet, 87; West's 

jjaraphrase of, 95 sq. 
Tillotson, Lady Russell to, 

287 
Titian, 207, 221, 222, 233 
Toledo, Strada di, 231, 259 
Torre del Greco, 252 
Torre delle Mole, 227 
Torriano, Professor, 191 and 

n. 
' Tory,' Walpole's spaniel, 

death of, 133, 134 
Tournus, 209 
Townshend, G. , 280 
Townshend, Lord, 278 
Trant, (Proctor), 66 
Tritoli, Sudatorii di, 244 
Tucker, Miss (Mrs Warbur- 

ton), 281, 282 
Tunbridge, 16, 131, 132; 

'Tunbrigiaua,' 133 
Tunbridge Wells, Horace 

Walpole at, 117 
Turin, 133 
Turner, Professor, 184 



Tweedmouth, 264 
Twickenham, 281 
'Tydeus,' 80, perhaps Dodd, 
94 u. 1 

Val de Grace, 205 

Valmote — Baroness de Wal- 

moden, 38 and n, 
Vandyke, 221 
Velletri, 225 
Venice, Gray at, 175 
Venus de Medicis, offended 

with West, 140 
Venus, temple of, 246 
Veruil, 150 

Veronese, Paolo, 205, 219 
Verral's Cookery with Gray's 

notes, 18 and n. 
Vesuvius, M., 232, 251 sq. 
Via Campana, 249 
Vienne, 213 
Virgil, 136, 155; on cities of 

Italy, 226, 227, 232, 243 
Virgil, tomb of, 259 
Viry, Comte de, 196 
Voltaire, 280 n., 286 and n, 
Vulturnus, 231 
Vyne, Hampshire, 175, 180 

Wales, Princess of, 279 

Walmoden, Baroness de, 38 
and n. 

Walpole, Horace. His quarrel 
with Gray and reconcilia- 
tion, 7 — 13 ; illness at Reg- 
gio, 58 and n., 150, 151 u.; 
grief at his mother's death, 
5, 102 ; at Richmond Lodge, 
115; Tunbridge Wells, 117 

Walpole, Horace (Lord Wal- 
pole of Woolterton), 284, 
285 and notes. Mrs Horace 
Walpole, ib. 

Walpole, Lady, her death, 5, 
101, 102 



312 



INDEX. 



Walpole, 8ir 11., ('Cardinal 
Fleury'), llo and n.; 116, 
130, 140, 277, 278, 285 and 
n., 286 

Warburton, 277 n. 1, 281 n. 1, 
282, 289—291 

Warburton, Mrs, see Tucker 

Watton, 190 

West, Elizabeth, daughter of 
Bishop Burnet, 108; sus- 
picions concerning her, 
15—17 

West, liichard, sen., Lord 
Cliaucellor of Ireland, 15; 
early death, ib. and 16 ; 
'Damon to Philomel,' 172 

West, Kichard, friend of (iray, 
15 — 17; going to Epsom, 
115 ; returns to the Temple, 
117; sends Gray Imit. of 
Horace from Epsom, 123 ; 
at Tunbridge, 131, 132 ; in 
Bond-Street, 142 ; Prince's 
Court, ib. n.; at Tunbridge 
Wells, 144; at Paris, 149; 
military longings, 150, 152 
sq.; 'Pausanias,' vid. s.v. ; 
at Popes, Hertfordshire, 
156; 'makes a muse of a 
Cough,' 158, 159 ; his versi- 
fying in sleep, 159 ; absence 
of mind, ib. n.; death, 168 

West's Poems, transl. of 
Martial iii. 61, p. 78 ; Ode 
to Mary Magdalene, 83 ; 
'Ad Amicos,' 95 sq.; ran- 
dom verses, 99, 100 ; transl. 
of Horace Carm i. 5, p. 101 ; 
Latin version of epigram of 
Poseidippus, 104 ; ' Hearne 
to Time,' 108; 'Thanks 
Chloe' &c., 109; Monody 



on the Death of Queen 
Caroline, 110 sq. ; Elegia 
' Quod mihi tam grata3,' 
118; Imitation of Horace 
Epist. I. 2, p. 119 sq. ; of 
Propertius 3. 15, p. 127; 
Sapphics to his Lyre, 133 ; 
Hexameters on the hard 
Winter, 1740, p. 137 ; 
' Elegia ' sent from London 
to Florence, 140, 141 ; 
Hexameters on his Cough, 
158 ; Invocation to Ma,y, 
165, 166 ; Translation from 
Catullus, 167, 168 

Westminster critics at Christ- 
church amputate West's 
verses, 71 

Whalley, (Whaley), 94 and n. 

Whit(e)tield's answer to Bp 
of London, 131 and n.; 
Journal, 137 

Whithed, 175, 180, 181, 185 
and n. 

Williams, Mr, 15 n. 

Williams, Sir C. Hanbury, 
280 n. 

Willis, 278 

Willymott, Dr, 72, 73, 75, 76 

Wilmington, Lord, (Sir 
Spencer Compton), 278 

Window tax in Scotland, 279 

Winter, hard, 1740 (Jan.), 137, 
138 

Woburn, 286, 287 ' 

Wolfe, and Gray, 23, 24 

Wordsworth, and Gray, 30, 31 

Yarmouth, 278 

Zelanti, 56 
Zoccolauti, 252 



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